Ishii Tetsuya
Office of Health and Safety, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0808, Japan.
Reprod Biomed Online. 2014 Aug;29(2):150-5. doi: 10.1016/j.rbmo.2014.04.001. Epub 2014 Apr 21.
Previous discussions regarding human germline gene modification led to a global consensus that no germline should undergo genetic modification. However, the UK Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, having conducted at the UK Government's request a scientific review and a wide public consultation, provided advice to the Government on the pros and cons of Parliament's lifting a ban on altering mitochondrial DNA content of human oocytes and embryos, so as to permit the prevention of maternal transmission of mitochondrial diseases. In this commentary, relevant ethical and biomedical issues are examined and requirements for proceeding with this novel procedure are suggested. Additionally, potentially significant impacts of the UK legalization on global policy concerning germline gene modification are discussed in the context of recent advances in genome-editing technology. It is concluded that international harmonization is needed, as well as further ethical and practical consideration, prior to the legalization of human mitochondrial replacement.
先前关于人类生殖系基因改造的讨论达成了一项全球共识，即任何生殖系都不应进行基因改造。然而，英国人类受精与胚胎学管理局应英国政府要求进行了科学审查并广泛征求公众意见后，就议会解除对改变人类卵子和胚胎线粒体DNA含量的禁令的利弊向政府提供了建议，以便预防线粒体疾病的母系遗传。在这篇评论中，对相关伦理和生物医学问题进行了审视，并提出了开展这一创新程序的要求。此外，结合基因组编辑技术的最新进展，讨论了英国合法化对全球生殖系基因改造政策可能产生的重大影响。得出的结论是，在人类线粒体替代合法化之前，需要进行国际协调以及进一步的伦理和实际考量。
