Genetic Engineering

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 601-615
Author(s):  
Kevin Wilger ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Engineering ◽  
Germ Line ◽  
Burden Of Proof ◽  
Human Person ◽  
Genetically Engineered ◽  
Human Embryos ◽  
Germ Line Cell ◽  
Engineering Research ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Potential Benefits

Genetic engineering is a rapidly evolving field of research with potentially powerful therapeutic applications. The technology CRISPR-Cas9 not only has improved the accuracy and overall feasbility of genome editing but also has increased access to users by lowering cost and increasing usability and speed. The potential benefits of genetic engineering may come with an increased risk of off-target events or carcinogenic growth. Germ-line cell therapy may also pose risks to potential progeny and thus have an additional burden of proof for safety. Persons responsible for evaluating the ethics of genetic-engineering research programs or clinical trials should do so in light of the nature, integrity, and totality of the human person. Recent news of the implantation and birth of genetically engineered human embryos is just one example of increased rogue science. Health care institutions should consider what steps can be taken to prevent or slow this trend.

Fas gene promoter –670 polymorphism in gynecological cancer

2006 ◽  
Vol 16 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 179-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Ueda ◽  
Y. Terai ◽  
K. Kanda ◽  
M. Kanemura ◽  
M. Takehara ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ovarian Cancer ◽  
Cervical Cancer ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Germ Line ◽  
Gynecological Cancer ◽  
Gene Promoter ◽  
Single Nucleotide ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Germ Line Polymorphism

Single-nucleotide polymorphism at −670 of Fas gene promoter (A/G) was examined in a total of 354 blood samples from normal healthy women and gynecological cancer patients. They consisted of 95 normal, 83 cervical, 108 endometrial, and 68 ovarian cancer cases. Eighty-three patients with cervical cancer had statistically higher frequency of GG genotype and G allele than 95 controls (P= 0.0353 and 0.0278, respectively). There was no significant difference in the genotype or allele prevalence between control subjects and endometrial or ovarian cancer patients. The Fas −670 GG genotype was associated with an increased risk for the development of cervical cancer (OR = 2.56, 95% CI = 1.08–6.10) compared with the AA genotype. The G allele also increased the risk of cervical cancer (OR = 1.60, 95% CI = 1.05–2.43) compared with the A allele. Germ-line polymorphism of Fas gene promoter −670 may be associated with the risk of cervical cancer in a Japanese population.

scholarly journals C-Peptide as a Therapy for Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

Biomedicines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 270
Author(s):  
Rachel L. Washburn ◽  
Karl Mueller ◽  
Gurvinder Kaur ◽  
Tanir Moreno ◽  
Naima Moustaid-Moussa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Diabetes Mellitus ◽  
Vascular Complications ◽  
The United States ◽  
Genetically Engineered ◽  
Therapeutic Effects ◽  
Pancreatic Islet Transplantation ◽  
C Peptide ◽  
Increased Risk

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a complex metabolic disease affecting one-third of the United States population. It is characterized by hyperglycemia, where the hormone insulin is either not produced sufficiently or where there is a resistance to insulin. Patients with Type 1 DM (T1DM), in which the insulin-producing beta cells are destroyed by autoimmune mechanisms, have a significantly increased risk of developing life-threatening cardiovascular complications, even when exogenous insulin is administered. In fact, due to various factors such as limited blood glucose measurements and timing of insulin administration, only 37% of T1DM adults achieve normoglycemia. Furthermore, T1DM patients do not produce C-peptide, a cleavage product from insulin processing. C-peptide has potential therapeutic effects in vitro and in vivo on many complications of T1DM, such as peripheral neuropathy, atherosclerosis, and inflammation. Thus, delivery of C-peptide in conjunction with insulin through a pump, pancreatic islet transplantation, or genetically engineered Sertoli cells (an immune privileged cell type) may ameliorate many of the cardiovascular and vascular complications afflicting T1DM patients.

scholarly journals Why we should not extend the 14-day rule

2021 ◽  
pp. medethics-2021-107317
Author(s):  
Bruce Philip Blackshaw ◽  
Daniel Rodger
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Research ◽  
Human Embryos ◽  
Limit Pressure ◽  
Potential Benefits

The 14-day rule restricts the culturing of human embryos in vitro for the purposes of scientific research for no longer than 14 days. Since researchers recently developed the capability to exceed the 14-day limit, pressure to modify the rule has started to build. Sophia McCully argues that the limit should be extended to 28 days, listing numerous potential benefits of doing so. We contend that McCully has not engaged with the main reasons why the Warnock Committee set such a limit, and these still remain valid. As a result, her case for an extension of the 14-day rule is not persuasive.

National and International Approaches to Human Germ-Line Gene Therapy

1994 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea L. Bonnicksen
Keyword(s):  
Gene Therapy ◽  
Germ Line ◽  
Human Embryos ◽  
Foreseeable Future ◽  
National Policies ◽  
Medical Technologies ◽  
Line Therapy

Germ-line gene therapy, in which genetic flaws are corrected in the DNA of externally fertilized human embryos, lies in the distant yet foreseeable future. Worries about germ-line therapy have prompted international bodies to craft guidelines that are unusual for their anticipatory nature. Motivating these guidelines is the idea that a “transnational harmonization” of principles should be reached before national policies are developed. This article reviews selected national policies and international recommendations, and it concludes that national policies should be precedents for, rather than descendants of, international normative codes. The inclination to develop morally-based codes, which is implicit in transnational harmonization, will be more useful if grounded in empirically-based medical technologies and politically-tested policies rather than on abstract principles developed well in advance of technological feasibility.

Genetically-Engineered Protease-Activated Triggers in a Pore-Forming Protein

1993 ◽  
Vol 330 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Walker ◽  
Nathan Walsh ◽  
Hagan Bayley
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Engineering ◽  
Cancer Cells ◽  
Pore Formation ◽  
Polypeptide Chain ◽  
Genetically Engineered ◽  
Recognition Sequence ◽  
Selective Activation ◽  
Selective Destruction ◽  
Pore Forming Proteins ◽  
Central Loop

ABSTRACTProtease-activated triggers have been introduced Into a pore-forming protein, staphylococcal a-hemolysin (αHL). The hemolysin was remodeled by genetic engineering to form two-chain constructs with redundant polypeptide sequences at the central loop, the Integrity of which Is crucial for efficient pore formation. The new hemolysins are activated when the polypeptide extensions are removed by proteases. By alterating the protease recognition sequence in the loop, selective activation by specified proteases can be obtained. Protease-triggered pore-forming proteins might be used for the selective destruction of cancer cells that bear tumor-associated proteases. When certain two-chain constructs are treated with proteases, a full-length polypeptide chain forms as the result of a protease-mediated transpeptidation reaction. This reaction might be used to produce chimeric hemolysins that are Inaccessible by conventional routes.

scholarly journals TBIO-27. RASOPATHIES AND BRAIN TUMOROGENESIS: ARE SOS1 MUTATIONS ARE CONCERNED?

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (Supplement_3) ◽  
pp. iii471-iii471
Author(s):  
Nouha Bouayed Abdelmoula ◽  
Rim Louati ◽  
Balkiss Abdelmoula ◽  
Samir Aloulou
Keyword(s):  
Germ Line ◽  
Mapk Pathway ◽  
Heart Diseases ◽  
Genetic Defect ◽  
Nucleotide Exchange ◽  
Gene Encoding ◽  
Nucleotide Exchange Factor ◽  
Valvular Stenosis ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Linker Domain

Abstract Germ line gain-of-function mutations in several members of the RAS/MAPK pathway, including PTPN11 are associated with signalopathies named Rasopathies and known as Noonan syndrome and closely related conditions. Patients harboring Rasopathies are at increased risk of myeloproliferative diseases and solid tumors, such as neuroblastoma. Mutations of SOS1, the gene encoding a guanine nucleotide exchange factor for Ras, represent the second most frequent genetic defect in Rasopathies. However, SOS1 mutations are rare in human malignancies and patients with germline SOS1 mutations may not be at increased risk of developing cancer. Here, we report a SOS1 variant found to segregate in a Tunisian pedigree with many members affected by brain tumors as well as epileptic disorder. During our genetic counselling for congenital heart diseases, a 9-year-old female born at Sfax from a consanguineous couple and having pulmonic valvular stenosis, has been investigated at the molecular level. Screening of mutations in the entire coding sequence of PTPN11, Braf and SOS1, was conducted using HRM analysis and bidirectional sequencing. Heterozygous single nucleotide substitution of SOS1 gene: c.1655 G>A was confirmed. This mutation affected the PH-REM linker domain with substitution of residue Arg552 to Lys: p.Arg552Lys. This mutation accounts for one-third of all mutations reported in SOS1 during Rasopathies. Although no other molecular exploration was done, family history revealed other affected children by neurodevelopmental and epileptic conditions as well as recurrent brain malignancies in the paternal family. Two aunts developed blindness and then died subsequently to tumor progression.

EMBRYO MANIPULATION AND GENE TRANSFER IN LIVESTOCK

1985 ◽  
Vol 65 (3) ◽  
pp. 527-538 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. B. CHURCH ◽  
F. J. SCHAUFELE ◽  
K. MECKLING
Keyword(s):  
Gene Transfer ◽  
Genetic Engineering ◽  
Embryo Transfer ◽  
Dna Sequences ◽  
Recombinant Dna ◽  
Fusion Gene ◽  
Bovine Genome ◽  
Monozygotic Twins ◽  
Genetically Engineered ◽  
Livestock Species

In the past few years significant progress has been made in manipulation of reproduction and in development of genetic engineering techniques which can be applied to animal species. Artificial insemination and embryo transfer are now used widely in the livestock industry. The advent of non-surgical embryo collection and transfer, embryo freezing and splitting along with estrus synchronization has allowed the industry to move from the laboratory to the farm. Embryo manipulation now involves embryo splitting to produce monozygotic twins, in vitro fertilization, cross-species fertilization, embryo sexing, and chimeric production of tetraparental animals among others. Advances in recombinant DNA, plasmid construction and embryo manipulation technologies allow the production of genetically engineered animals. The application of recombinant DNA technology involves the isolation and manipulation of desired genes which have potential for significant changes in productivity in genetically engineered livestock. Recombinant DNA constructs involve the coupling of promoter, enhancer, regulatory and structural DNA sequences to form a "fusion gene" which can then be multiplied, purified, assayed and expressed in cell culture prior to being introduced into an animal genome. Such DNA gene constructs are readily available for many human and mouse genes. However, they are not readily available for livestock species because the detailed molecular biology has not yet been established in these species. Gene transfer offers a powerful new tool in animal research. Transfer of genes into the bovine genome has been accomplished. However, successful directed expression of these incorporated genes has not been achieved to date. New combinations of fusion genes may be an effective way of producing transgenic domestic animals which show controlled expression of the desired genes. Embryo manipulation and genetic engineering in livestock species is moving rapidly. The problems being addressed at present in numerous laboratories will result in enhanced livestock production in the not too distant future. Key words: Embryo transfer, embryo manipulation, transgenic livestock, genetic engineering, gene transfer, monozygotic twins

Testicular germ line cell identification, isolation, and transplantation in two North American catfish species

2018 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 717-733 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mei Shang ◽  
Baofeng Su ◽  
Dayan A. Perera ◽  
Ahmed Alsaqufi ◽  
Elizabeth A. Lipke ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North American ◽  
Germ Line ◽  
Germ Line Cell ◽  
Cell Identification

Genetic engineering of virus resistance: a successful genetical alchemy

1992 ◽  
Vol 99 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 61-77
Author(s):  
B. D. Harrison
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Engineering ◽  
Resistance Genes ◽  
Virus Resistance ◽  
Crop Improvement ◽  
Genetically Engineered ◽  
Satellite Rna ◽  
Virus Diseases ◽  
Naturally Occurring ◽  
Resistance To Infection ◽  
Specific Tolerance

SynopsisSome of the most successful early applications of genetic engineering in crop improvement have been in the production of virus-resistant plants. This has been achieved not by the transfer of naturally occurring resistance genes from one plant species or variety to another but by transformation with novel resistance genes based on nucleotide sequences derived from the viruses themselves or from virus-associated nucleic acids. Transformation of plants with a DNA copy of the particle protein gene of viruses that have positive-sense single-stranded RNA genomes typically confers resistance to infection with the homologous and closely related viruses. Transformation with a gene that is transcribed to produce a benign viral satellite RNA can confer virus-specific tolerance of infection. In addition, recent work with viral poly-merase gene-related sequences offers much promise, and research is active on other strategies such as the use of virus-specific ribozymes.Already the field trialling of plants incorporating transgenic virus resistance has begun, with encouraging results, and effects on virus spread are being studied. Deployment strategies for the resistant plants must now be devised and the conjectural hazards of growing them assessed. Genetically engineered virus resistance promises to make a major contribution to the control of plant virus diseases by non-chemical methods.

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