Agreeing what makes a stem cell
3 February
The International Stem Cell Forum (ISCF), chaired by Professor Colin Blakemore, has met in Singapore and agreed further funding for an international project to look at how stored stem cell lines evolve over time.
The Forum brings together the world’s leading agencies involved in funding stem cell research. This year, the Forum’s annual meeting in Singapore focused largely on best practice around the growing and characterisation of stem cell lines and the ethics of sourcing eggs for research.
Central to this year’s meeting was the report from Professor Peter Andrews, from the University of Sheffield, UK, who is leading the Forum’s International Stem Cell Initiative, a project aimed at developing internationally agreed criteria for the characterisation of human embryonic stem cells. Phase one of the programme is now complete. This has provided an insight into what maintains a stem cell in such a state that it is able to be directed to turn into a number of different cell types. It also established a comprehensive registry of cell lines and their molecular characteristics which is soon to be made freely available to the wider scientific community.
The Forum agreed to provide further funding of US$2 million to Professor Andrews and his many collaborators to proceed with phase two of this project. This will focus on the culture media used and the genetic variations that can occur over prolonged periods of growth in vitro, as well as expanding the embryonic stem cell registry to include new lines.
Professor Peter Andrews said: “Our central aims are to provide openness and reliability; and to enable scientists to reproduce and extend each other’s work - all are crucial to international collaborations between stem cell scientists. This type of initiative is only possible through an organisation like the Forum which brings together funders and labs from across the world, all driven by the desire to progress cautiously while benefiting from the huge potential to be derived from working together.”
The Forum also heard a report from Professor Bartha Knoppers who chairs its Ethics Working Party, which met separately to discuss “The Donation of Human Oocytes and Embryos for Stem Cell Research”. The Ethics Working Party (EWP) noted that while the donation of surplus embryos for research had received much attention, it felt there was a lack of policy about the procurement of eggs for research purposes.
The EWP said the ethical issues faced were comparable to those governing healthy volunteers in biomedical research generally. The invasiveness of procedures, the unknown long term risks, and level of pain and discomfort have led to a debate on the issue of financial incentives for egg donation for research. The EWP favoured a mixed-model of financial incentives to be fair to volunteers but not to encourage excessive inducement. This would combine fixed-compensation with paying volunteers their expenses. The EWP also advised there needed to be recognition of the value to society of citizens contributing to research.
Professor Colin Blakemore said: “Four years into its existence, the Forum continues to bring together members who share a desire to ensure quality and best practice in stem cell research. The potential of stem cell research is great. We hope stem cell science will lead to the treatment of all manner of illnesses, from diabetes to multiple sclerosis. The Forum has set as its main goal the encouragement of international collaboration and standardisation, to promote best practice and to make good research easier to carry out. There is simply so much at stake from this exciting field of research, it is crucial we work together to bring benefits to patients.”
For more information visit: www.stemcellforum.org
