University of Warwick

Project Title:

The generation of human embryonic stem cells by transferring a human cell into recipient pig eggs

Centre:

Clinical Sciences Research Institute, University of Warwick

Person Responsible:

Professor Justin St John

Lay summary:

We will use a human skin cell that harbours a mutation for a specific heart condition and introduce it into a pig egg that has had its nucleus removed. This newly formed egg will be activated to produce an embryo and cultured to the blastocyst stage (consisting of up to a few hundred cells), the stage at which ES cells can be derived. Most cellular energy is derived from small bodies in cells known as mitochondria which possess their own DNA. This DNA encodes some of the factors used to generate cellular energy. The remaining factors are encoded by the nucleus.

Although the genetic content of the newly derived ES cells will be mainly human, they could possess both pig and human mitochondrial DNA. Mixing of these two diverse populations of mitochondria and/or nuclear encoded mitochondrial genes can be detrimental to cellular function. Consequently, we propose several experiments in order to regulate the mitochondrial DNA content of the ES cells we generate so that the resultant ES cells will have both human chromosomes and human mitochondrial DNA.

This approach will generate the first human only cloned ES cell line and one that models a human disease. This will promote the understanding of the underlying mechanisms associated with such diseases.
Last updated: 30 June 2008