(Circulation. 2000;102:e9025.)
© 2000 American Heart Association, Inc.
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Cardiovascular News
Stem Cells: The Answer or the Problem?
Perhaps no single issue in bioscience has created more controversy or a greater division than that of pluripotent stem cells. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has published final guidelines for research involving pluripotent stem cells—almost 2 years after reports that the cells had been isolated were first published. (Shamblott M, et al, Derivation of pluripotent stem cells from cultured human primordial germ cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1998;95:13726–13731; Thomson J, et al, Embryonic stem cell lines derived from human blastocysts. Science. 1998;282:1145–1147). The guidelines, which took effect August 25, 2000, set out the rule under which the NIH will fund projects. However, those projects will involve only stem cells from frozen excess embryos created for fertility treatment and then not used.
The agency released a statement saying that it issued the guidelines to ensure that such research is "conducted in an ethical and legal manner... The NIH believes the potential medical benefits of human pluripotent stem cell technology is compelling and worthy of pursuit in accordance with appropriate ethical standards." However, in its August 24, 2000 issue, the publication Washington FAX said, "Opponents of such research almost certain will try to block it in Congress on the ground that isolating the cells from human embryos or fetal tissue destroys potential human life."
The promise of human pluripotent stem cells lies in the fact that they
can give rise to different kinds of cells such as muscle, nerve, heart,
and blood. Research with the cells may