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HONG KONG – A Chinese researcher claims to have helped create the world's first genetically modified baby – twin babies born this month, whose DNA he modified with a powerful new tool that can rewrite the model of life.
If this is true, it would be a giant leap forward in science and ethics.
An American scientist said that he had taken part in the work in China, but this type of genetic modification is banned in the United States because DNA changes can be passed on to future generations and could harm other genes.
Many mainstream scientists think it is too dangerous to try, and some have called the Chinese report human experimentation.
The researcher, He Jiankui of Shenzhen, said he has modified embryos for seven couples during fertility treatments, with a pregnancy up to now. He stated that his goal was not to cure or prevent an inherited disease, but to try to confer a characteristic trait of a few people naturally – an ability to resist a possible HIV infection , the AIDS virus.
He added that the parents concerned did not want to be identified or interviewed and that he would not tell them where they lived or where the work was done.
There is no independent confirmation of his request, and it has not been published in a journal where it would be verified by other experts. He revealed it Monday in Hong Kong at one of the organizers of an international conference on gene editing that should open Tuesday, and earlier in exclusive interviews with The Associated Press.
"I feel a strong responsibility that it's not enough to make a first, but also to make an example," he told the AP. "Society will decide what to do next" to allow or prohibit such science.
Some scientists were stunned to learn this statement and strongly condemned it.
This is "unacceptable … an experiment on human beings that is morally and ethically untenable," said Dr. Kiran Musunuru, Gene Publishing Expert at the University of Pennsylvania and editor-in-chief of the University of Pennsylvania. a journal of genetics.
"It's way too early," said Eric Topol, director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in California. "We are talking about a user's manual. It's a big problem. "
However, a famous geneticist, George Church of Harvard University, defended any attempt to modify the gene for HIV, which he described as "a major and growing threat to public health."
"I think it's justifiable," said Church about this goal.
In recent years, scientists have discovered a relatively easy way to edit genes, the DNA strands that regulate the body, by using a tool to power a required gene or to disable one that poses problems. problems.
It is only recently that attempts have been made to treat life-threatening diseases in adults, and the changes are limited to that person. The edition of spermatozoa, oocytes or embryos is different – the changes can be inherited. In the United States, it is not allowed except for laboratory research. China prohibits human cloning, but not specifically gene editing.
He Jiankui (HEH JEE'anway) studied at Rice and Stanford Universities in the United States before opening a laboratory at China's Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen, where he also has two genetics companies.
The American scientist who worked with him on this project after returning to China was Michael Deem, professor of physics and bioengineering, who was his adviser to Rice. Deem also holds what he called "a small stake" and is part of the scientific advisory boards of his two companies.
The Chinese scientist said he chose to try to edit the gene for embryos for HIV because these infections are a serious problem in China. He sought to disable a gene called CCR5 that forms a protein gateway allowing HIV, the virus at the origin of AIDS, to enter a cell.
All the men involved in the project were HIV-positive and not all women, but the gene editing was not intended to prevent the low risk of transmission, he said. Fathers have seen their infections deeply suppressed by standard anti-HIV drugs and there are simple ways to prevent them from infecting their children.
Instead, the call was to offer couples affected by HIV a chance to have a child who could be protected from a similar fate.
He added that the gene modification had occurred during IVF or fertilization of a lab plaque. First, sperm has been "washed" to separate it from sperm, the fluid where HIV can hide. A single sperm was placed in a single egg to create an embryo. Then, the gene editing tool was used.
When the embryos were 3 to 5 days old, some cells were picked and checked for editing. Couples can choose to use published or unedited embryos for their pregnancy attempts. Eleven embryos were used in six attempts before pregnancy, he said.
The tests suggest that one of the twins has modified both copies of the desired gene and that the other twin has only one, with no evidence of damage to others. genes, he said. People with a copy can still contract HIV.
Several scientists reviewed the documents he provided to the PA and stated that the tests conducted so far were insufficient to draw conclusions.
It is unclear whether the participants understood the purpose, as well as the risks and potential benefits. For example, the consent forms called the project an "AIDS Vaccine Development" program.
The study participants are not ethicists, he said, but "are so much authority over what is right and wrong, because it is their life at stake".
"I think it will help families and their children," he said. If this causes unwanted side effects or damage, "I would feel the same pain as them and that would be my own responsibility".
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AP science editor Christina Larson, AP videographer Emily Wang and AP AP Fu Ting contributed to the story from Beijing and Shenzhen in China.
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This Associated Press series was produced in partnership with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, disseminated, rewritten or redistributed.
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