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05/19/26 11:43:14am

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Subject: stem cells

Author:
krz

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Date Posted: 10/14/04 12:44:13pm

I'm in favor of stem cell research continuing on existing and future stem cell lines. The challenge with existing cell lines is that there is 'contamination' with mouse genes on existing lines (because of the cloning process, there is some mouse gene in the existing cell line). For research purposes, this contamination isn't a huge concern -so in the immediate future of the work there would really be no limitation on impact. However, this could be a concern for future work targeted towards recovery/rehabilitative applications. Cells cloned from lines with foreign genetic matter could/would most likley be unsuccessfully implanted in humans - and that's where the most immediate rehabilitative application of the technology lies. Because most people doing this work think on a 20+ year time line and not a 4 year time line, I can understand the desire to open up more cell lines than are currently available -

I don't see this through rose colored glasses though - huge monies to be made by cultivating these lines, and the desire to add cell lines to federally funded projects isn't necessarily altruistic behavior on the part of scientists or the universities they work for. In addition, the government only restricted federal monies to these lines, not private monies (e.g., the Christopher Reeve Foundation does a lot of this work without federal money). The issue here isn't whether the work will continue, it is who will fund it. Federal money will get the work done faster, and that becomes the basis of the political agenda, not whether the work will get done. Not unlike the debate of whether the NIH should spend more money on cancer or AIDS - the research will get done on both fronts, some will just get done quicker.

I'm sensitive to those who consider life to occur at conception, and who feel that we can't morally go down this road. I just don't know how to debate that perspective because it seems undebatable -

My personal take is that I am comfortable and in support of federal money used to develop additional stem cell lines. It is most likley to result in therapies treating the folks I deal with most regularly in my practice, and I believe the work has promise. It's also good for the state of WI because the biotech industry (and specifically the UW-Madison and UW-System) here has patents on 3 of the currently approved cell lines, and has the technology in place to develop more.

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Replies:

Subject	Author	Date
thanks krz (NT)	pa	10/14/04 1:28:48pm