Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer

Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer

Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT), more commonly known as cloning, is a topic of great controversy and has undergone much research over the past few decades. Scientists have recently been successful at cloning certain mammals and are moving closer to the cloning of humans.

Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer of mammals is a complicated process in which the nucleus of an egg cell ooplasm is removed and replaced by the DNA containing nucleus of a somatic cell. The egg cell divides until it reaches the blastocyst stage. At this time the nucleus is removed and then cultured to produce embryonic stem cells which are genetically identical to the original somatic cell, which could essentially be grown further to produce tissue, organs, or even a mammal identical to the original (Lewis, 2005).

There are, however, many limitations and complications to this process. For instance, cloned mice and some other cloned mammals experienced large offspring syndrome and scientists also discovered double the normal expression of genes, which contain proteins that are essential for growth, receptors, enzymes, and clotting. This gene expression is also affected by the culture medium used to "nurture" the donor cells. Scientists are currently working to find different methods of turning on and off certain genes, such as Oct4 and Sox2 that play a part in some of these defects (Lewis, 2005).

The cloning of human cells, without regards to ethics, would have many uses. Cloning of humans could help people with certain organ or tissue complications. On a personal note, years ago my mother underwent a surgery and by the fault of the anesthesiologist had damage to her spine and nerves, leaving her with no feeling in her legs making it difficult to walk. If technology allowed having her nerve cells cloned, which under normal circumstances do not repair themselves or replicate, she may be able to have these damaged cells cured. Others who have spinal cord problems, such as people with paralysis may also benefit from this technology.

During the past ten years, the list of people awaiting an organ transplant has doubled to nearly 85,000 people and nearly 17 people die each day waiting for an eligible organ ("Gift of Life"). With all of these people waiting for an organ transplant, human organ cloning and growth would erase the need for a donor, allowing