Nuclear transfer to prevent maternal transmission of mitochondrial DNA disease: Would be a major advance, but safe alternatives exist for most affected families

BMJ (Online)

Volumn 345, Issue 7877, 2012, Pages

  Poulton, Joanna ^a   Oakeshott, Pippa ^b  

^a UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD   (United Kingdom)

^b ST GEORGE'S UNIVERSITY OF LONDON   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

MITOCHONDRIAL DNA;

CELL NUCLEUS TRANSPLANTATION; EDITORIAL; FERTILIZATION IN VITRO; GENE MUTATION; GENE THERAPY; GENETIC ANALYSIS; GENETIC COUNSELING; GENETIC DISORDER; HUMAN; INTERMETHOD COMPARISON; LEBER HEREDITARY OPTIC NEUROPATHY; MATERNAL SPINDLE TRANSFER; MITOCHONDRIAL DNA DISORDER; NIDATION; OOCYTE DONATION; PREIMPLANTATION GENETIC DIAGNOSIS; PRIORITY JOURNAL; PRONUCLEAR TRANSFER; RISK REDUCTION; VERTICAL TRANSMISSION;

DNA, MITOCHONDRIAL; FEMALE; HUMANS; MITOCHONDRIAL DISEASES; NUCLEAR TRANSFER TECHNIQUES;

EID: 84867266993     PISSN: None     EISSN: 17561833     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1136/bmj.e6651     Document Type: Editorial

References (12)

1. Tachibana M, Sparman M, Sritanaudomchai H, Ma H, Clepper L, Woodward J, et al. Mitochondrial gene replacement in primate offspring and embryonic stem cells. Nature 2009;461:367-72.
2. Craven L, Tuppen HA, Greggains GD, Harbottle SJ, Murphy JL, Cree LM, et al. Pronuclear transfer in human embryos to prevent transmission of mitochondrial DNA disease. Nature 2010 465:82-5.
3. Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority. Medical frontiers. Debating mitochondria replacement. 2012. http://mitochondria.hfea.gov.uk/mitochondria/.
4. Saunders P, Watts G. Should MPs sanction "three-parent babies"? Guardian 2012. www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/jun/12/head-to-head-three- parent-babies.
5. Poulton J, Kennedy S, Oakeshott P, Wells D. Preventing transmission of maternally inherited mitochondrial DNA diseases. BMJ 2009;338:345-9.
6. Sato A, Kono T, Nakada K, Ishikawa K, Inoue S, Yonekawa H, et al. Gene therapy for progeny of mito-mice carrying pathogenic mtDNA by nuclear transplantation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2005;102:16765-70. (Pubitemid 41688851)
7. Poulton J, Bredenoord A. 174th ENMC International Workshop: Applying Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis to mtDNA Diseases: Implications of Scientific Advances 19-21 March 2010, Naarden, the Netherlands. Neuromuscul Disord 2010;20:559-63.
8. Riordan-Eva P, Sanders MD, Govan GG, Sweeney MG, Da Costa J, Harding AE. The clinical features of Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy defined by the presence of a pathogenic mitochondrial DNA mutation. Brain 1995;118:319-37.
9. Bredenoord A, Dondorp W, Pennings G, De Die-Smulders C, Smeets H, De Wert G. PGD to reduce reproductive risk: the case of mitochondrial DNA disorders. Hum Reprod 2008;23:2392-401.
10. Nuffield Council on Bioethics. Mitochondrial DNA disorders. 2012. www.nuffieldbioethics.org/mitochondrial-dna-disorders.
11. Medical Research Council. Dr Doug Turnbull. 2011. www.mrc.ac.uk/ Achievementsimpact/Profiles/DougTurnbull/index.htm.
12. Bredenoord AL, Dondorp W, Pennings G, De Wert G. Ethics of modifying the mitochondrial genome. J Med Ethics 2011;37:97-100.