It has been a long and winding road for US stem cell scientists, but as of Wednesday 3 December 2009 they now have access to new National Institutes of Health (NIH) approved human embryonic stem cell (hESC) lines.
In March 2009 President Obama issued an
executive order lifting the NIH funding restrictions placed on hESC research by his predecessor, George W Bush. Under former President Bush funding was only permitted for research using hESC lines derived before August 2001, limiting researchers to a very small number of lines. During his two terms in office President Bush went on to famously veto two bills which would have allowed funding for the use of human embryonic stem cells in research. Ultimately his restrictions resulted in a patchwork effect of some states providing large amounts of funding to the research and others legislating against it and ultimately effectively inhibiting collaborative research.
At time of writing there are 13 newly approved lines, considered ‘open and shut cases’, complying with the new
NIH Guidelines for Human Stem Cell Research. The guidelines ensure that NIH funded research is ethically responsible, scientifically worthy, and conducted in accordance with applicable law. Another 96 lines are under consideration, with more approvals expected soon. Of the newly approved lines, 11 were created by George Daley at the Children's Hospital Boston and two by Ali Brivanlou at Rockefeller University in New York City.
One restriction that may never be removed is a restriction set by Congress in 1996, known as the Dickey-Wicker amendment, which forbids the use of federal funds for any research involving the creation of human embryos for research purposes or for research in which human embryos are destroyed. Therefore the creation of hESC lines will still require alternative sources of funding.
The NIH has now funded 30 stem cell research proposals totalling more than US$20 million that will use the hESC lines. Now the researchers can get the cells, and get going.
Read more:
http://stemcells.nih.gov/