Three little monkeys. Made from six different types of monkeys. It’s hard to believe something that sounds so much like a children’s song or story could have such potential for medical advancement. But if the research can be applied, its implications are staggering.
Earlier this month, Portland State–partner Oregon Health and Science University’s most prominent laboratory, the Oregon National Primate Research Center, announced that it had successfully combined the genes of six different monkeys to create three baby monkeys.
Normally, this would not be a very big deal; every creature is inherently the product of two other individuals. However, rather than two parents, these monkeys carry the DNA of six different adult monkeys. And the genes combined did not come from sex cells; they were introduced using foreign stem cells.
In other words, the monkeys that OHSU engineered have multiple sets of DNA and have shown that embryonic stem cells can be introduced into primates—possibly even humans.
This is surprisingly easy to explain. There is a brief period of time during prenatal development after fertilization when the embryo is capable of incorporating foreign stem cells into itself. These cells are undifferentiated; they can grow to be almost any tissue. As the embryo develops, the new cells differentiate, forming parts of the body that work together as seamlessly as the original cells would have.
In the case of OHSU’s monkeys, this was done by aggregating fresh embryos—in essence, squishing them together—so that they would develop together as one individual. The embryos (consisting entirely of stem cells) were then implanted into a surrogate mother, and a single infant was produced from the three sets of DNA.
The implications of this research are not immediately clear to many, but it could easily be applied to reproductive medicine (IVF, fertilization treatments, etc.), as well as organ transplantation.
Reproductive medicine has the most to gain in the short term from this research. In vitro fertilization has actually been associated with an increased risk for human chimerism—the presence of two or more sets of DNA in an individual. Because IVF often relies on implanting multiple embryos at once, the possibility of these embryos aggregating is present.
Chimerism in humans is not inherently dangerous, but it can cause complications in medical treatments or difficulty acquiring accurate results for tests requiring DNA analysis. And for human chimeras with immune diseases, there can be lasting health problems.
Analysis of this project could lead to a better understanding of this phenomenon and could lower the likelihood of human chimerism in IVF patients. Additionally, if it was found that chimerism is advantageous, this research provides fertility specialists with the evidence that it can be done intentionally, as well as an explanation as to how this would be done.
Organ transplantation could also advance thanks to this research. Stem cell research on organ transplantation has shown that the presence of stem cells help the body not to reject a transplanted organ. But this research could steer the research in a completely new direction.
The immunological balance between the tissues with different DNA in the monkeys OHSU produced could help scientists develop methods to keep the body from rejecting new organs in transplant patients. It may also help scientists in their efforts to create new organs for transplant independently of a donor or a patient.
Some have attacked the research, saying that the creation of these monkeys was unnecessary and inhumane. Others suggest that the research opens the door to legalizing human cloning or enabling the creation of “designer babies.” Others still maintain that altering an embryo is an act which goes against nature, and they generally also state that stem cell research itself is immoral.
However, this research is none of these things. The monkeys created are not suffering, and neither are their surrogate mothers. The process used to create them did not involve aborting fetuses—only embryos, which are miscarried in most pregnancies anyway.
“Designer babies,” or children genetically designed to fit a model put forth by a parent as “ideal,” are no closer because of this research than immortality is. Even if one disregards laws concerning human cloning, genetics are exceptionally tricky. Creating a human chimera is not going to allow for control of the traits the child displays; it only increases the chance that an individual will display that trait.
In addition, chimerism is an entirely natural thing, regardless of whether it happens in a lab or in a uterus. Chimerism happens in nature as well, although it is made more likely using modern fertility techniques in a lab. And whatever one’s stance on stem cells, it cannot be denied that the benefits from the research could lead to a better quality of life for millions of people.
OHSU’s research into chimerism should be supported. As an associated university, PSU should reach out to support and assist in this research. Students could benefit from the opportunity to explore such a potentially revolutionary project.
It may only be three little monkeys now, but this will be a project to watch.