SCNT

The goal of SCNT

SCNT

Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (or Therapeutic cloning) - process of transferring a somatic nucleus into an enucleated cell.

(Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer) commonly referred as therapeutic cloning

CLOSE [X]

Cloning

The technique of producing a genetically identical duplicate of an organism. It involves the process of taking the nucleus of a somatic cell and injecting it into enucleated egg. The egg is then implanted into the uterus to grow.

is to develop treatments for diseased and injured patients by creating stem cell derived, patient-specific, genetically identical cells that their bodies won't reject and that can be used in therapeutic transplant.

The process of SCNT involves following steps: nucleus (DNA)

CLOSE [X]

DNA

DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is a double-stranded helix of nucleotides which carries the genetic information of a cell. It encodes the information for the proteins and is able to self-replicate.

is taken from the somatic (body) cell of a person suffering from a disease; it is then injected into an unfertilized egg from which the nucleus has been removed; and the egg is stimulated to divide and produce stem cells.

CLOSE [X]

Stem Cells

Undifferentiated cells,

CLOSE [X]

Undifferentiated Cells

Cells that can become other cell types. They have not yet decided their fate; what type of cell they will become.

that can give rise to more mature differentiated cells and have the ability to self-replicate. There are many kinds of stem cells - adult stem cells (AS), embryonic cells (ES), embryonic germ cells (EG).

These stem cells can be grow in a culture for a long time and it can grow into tissue. This new tissue will have the same DNA as the person suffering from the disease and this can greatly reduce the likelihood that their body will reject the transplant, since these cells are recognized as “self” cells. It may also help prevent the need for immunosuppressive drugs, which often have severe and potentially life-threatening side effects.

In short, nuclear transplantation to produce stem cells—so-called therapeutic cloning—cannot create life, but can potentially save millions of lives and relieve the suffering of millions more. SCNT has a great potential in providing a treatment for many diseases and debilitating disorders, including Parkinson’s, spinal-cord injury, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, ALS, heart disease, and cancer.

The controversy over therapeutic cloning comes in part from the word “cloning”. Scientists are performing cloning every day, most of which is commonly accepted, such as cloning to develop powerful new drugs or to produce useful bacteria in the lab.

There's a world of difference between reproductive cloning - the use of cloning technology to create a child - and therapeutic cloning, the transplanting of a patient's own DNA into an unfertilized egg in order to grow stem cells that could cure devastating diseases. With therapeutic cloning, the blastocyst can never develop into a person, because there is no fertilization of the egg by sperm, no implantation in the uterus and no pregnancy.