Cabrera Trujillo Laura Yenisa, Engel-Glatter Sabrina
Institute of Biomedical Ethics, University of Basel, Bernoullistrasse 28, 4056, Basel, Switzerland,
Sci Eng Ethics. 2015 Jun;21(3):595-617. doi: 10.1007/s11948-014-9556-6. Epub 2014 Jun 3.
Research with human-animal chimera raises a number of ethical concerns, especially when neural stem cells are transplanted into the brains of non-human primates (NHPs). Besides animal welfare concerns and ethical issues associated with the use of embryonic stem cells, the research is also regarded as controversial from the standpoint of NHPs developing cognitive or behavioural capabilities that are regarded as "unique" to humans. However, scientists are urging to test new therapeutic approaches for neurological diseases in primate models as they better mimic human physiology than all current animal models. As a response, various countries have issued reports on the topic. Our paper summarizes the ethical issues raised by research with human-animal brain chimeras and compares the relevant regulatory instruments and different recommendations issued in national reports from three important European research nations: Germany, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. We assess and discuss the focus and priorities set by the different reports, review various reasons for and perspectives on the importance of the brain in chimera research, and identify critical points in the reports that warrant further specification and debate.
人类-动物嵌合体研究引发了诸多伦理问题，尤其是将神经干细胞移植到非人类灵长类动物（NHP）大脑中的情况。除了动物福利问题以及与使用胚胎干细胞相关的伦理问题外，从非人类灵长类动物发展出被视为人类“独特”的认知或行为能力的角度来看，该研究也存在争议。然而，科学家们迫切希望在灵长类动物模型中测试针对神经疾病的新治疗方法，因为它们比目前所有动物模型都能更好地模拟人类生理机能。作为回应，各国已发布了关于该主题的报告。我们的论文总结了人类-动物脑嵌合体研究引发的伦理问题，并比较了三个重要欧洲研究国家（德国、瑞士和英国）在国家报告中发布的相关监管手段和不同建议。我们评估并讨论了不同报告设定的重点和优先事项，审视了关于大脑在嵌合体研究中的重要性的各种原因和观点，并确定了报告中需要进一步明确和辩论的关键点。
