Japan gives the green light to create embryos

TOKYO (EFE)— A Japanese government committee has agreed to allow the creation of human embryos using eggs and sperm produced from induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells for exclusive use in research on various subjects such as infertility and hereditary diseases.

The embryo culture period will be limited to a maximum of 14 days, before the structure that allows for the formation of organs and tissues begins to develop, according to details of the document reported yesterday by local media.

The implantation of embryos in human or animal uteruses will be prohibited, as will conventional fertilized eggs, because they could lead to the birth of a human being, according to a report prepared by a committee of bioethics experts. This report establishes guidelines for research using eggs fertilized from iPS cells, embryonic stem cells, and other pluripotent cells.

With this new line of research, scientists hope to delve deeper into the earliest stages of embryonic development, when cells are constantly dividing, which could help uncover the causes of problems such as infertility or genetic disorders.

The recent decision “provides consistent standards, and the expansion of the scope of research is welcome,” said Mitinori Saitou, whose team was the first to successfully fertilize eggs and sperm created from mouse iPS cells and produce offspring between 2011 and 2012, in comments reported by local media outlet “Nikkei.”

This could increase access to fertilized eggs, which would accelerate research, which has so far relied on fertilized eggs obtained during infertility treatments.

Human sperm and eggs have not yet been created from human iPS cells, although ongoing research advances allow scientists to hope that this “will be possible in about five years,” the report says.

The creation of these embryos from iPS cells was approved after ethical review following the guidelines of the International Society for Stem Cell Research, a global nonprofit organization.

Regulation

Each country chooses its own way of regulating the practice. In the United States, it's up to the individual states; the United Kingdom has a licensing system for researchers.

Japan has just approved it, and according to Tsutomu Sawai of Hiroshima University, "the debate on bioethics and the establishment of certain regulations by the Japanese government will be very well received by the international community."