Hi Murray (or anyone interested):
If you really want to get into it...
Here is an article that is available .PDF format, it is about producing
mice that have been genetically modified by introducing germ cells
into the blastomere at an appropriate time. The resulting animals are chimeras,
but, have the gonads of one of the cell lines, and a body of the other
(not just chimeric gonads). Amazing.
The article is available online, but, I don't have the Web Site available.
A search for this article at Pub Med will provide a link.
If you make a somatic cell chimera of a white mouse and a black mouse, it
will look like a holstein cow in terms of fur pattern.
Scientists have been doing this since the 70's.
That is what is so puzzling about Geron's human embryonic germ cell patent.
They must be trying to cover the bases. I think this Patent would cover
a lot of future research and possible clinical/technical developments that
anyone makes that might be applied towards making a profit from some
product by anyone.
Time to buy stock.
This is as controversial as the Patenting of the human genome as each
gene is discovered.
Time to buy stock.
I think, modifying the human germ line is illegal by international law.
It is a technique like cloning of a human... unacceptable to most.
But, in the future, there may be a 'therapeutic' use for the technique,
that does not produce a new individual that would pass on modified genetics.
Ray
............................................................................................
Mol. Cells, Vol. 6, No. 5, pp. 577-581
A New Embryonic Stem Cell Line with Germ-line
Competence in the FvB/N Background
Daesoo Kim, Dong Hyeun Park Nae Gyu Kang, Yoon Namkoong and Hee-Sup Shin
Department of Life Science, Pohang University of Science and Technology,
Pohang 790-784,
Korea
(Received on June 22, 1996)
A new embryonic stem (ES) cell line, H3, has been established from a
3.5-day p.c. blastocyst
of the 129/sv strain of mice. The degree of germ-line competence of this
cell line was
compared with that of J1 sublines in the FvB/N host background, an albino
inbred strain
which is preferably used in the generation of transgenic mice via
pronucleus injection. All
chimeras of the FvB/N background derived from H3 or J1 cells showed a low
degree coat
color chimerism. However, contrary to the previous report on the germ-line incompatibity
of the FvB/N strain with 129-derived ES cells, H3 cells gave germ line
transmissions in
five out of six FvB/N based chimeras. This property of H3 cells contrasted
with those of J1
cells which did not give any significant germ line transmission from
chimeras made in the
same FvB/N host whereas they were efficient in forming a germ-line
chimerism in the C
57BL/6J background. These results conform to the previous observations by
others that
the germ-line compatibility of ES cells with a host strain is dependent on
clonal lines. FvB/
N mice are known to be a robust breeder and the females respond well to hormone-induced
superovulation yielding a large number of germ-line compatible blastocysts. Such
advantages of FvB/N may be utilized in the study of gene targeting when
this host is com-bined
with H3 ES cells, and will results in saving costs and efforts required for
such ex-periments.
...............................................................................................
Murray Charters wrote:
>
> Thanks Ray,
> That's what I needed... A simplified answer in layman's terms...
> Best regards ... murray
>
> On 14 Jun 2001, at 23:14, Raymond Strand wrote:
>
> > Hello Murray:
> >
> > Re: Are "germ" cells same as stem cells??
> >
> > No, and yes.
> > Germ cells are the stem cell precursors to the gonads.
> > They are stem cells on a mission, ready to differentiate.
> > They occur early in embryonic development.
> >
> > Changes to germ cells will affect future generations,
> > which makes them important. All other changes to "somatic" cells,
> > will not be passed to future generations.
> >
> > I'm not sure what Geron is going to do with human embryonic germ
> > cells.
> >
> >
> > Ray
>
> ******
>
> [log in to unmask]
--
Ray Strand
Prairie Sky Design
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