Non-embryo-destructive Extraction of Pluripotent Embryonic Stem Cells: Implications for Regenerative Medicine and Reproductive Medicine

Abstract

On August 1, 2013, the German Patent and Trademark Office issued a patent for the “Non-embryo-destructive extraction of pluripotent embryonic stem cells, stem cells obtained by this process and their uses” (DE 10 2004 062 184 B4). The patent document describes a non-embryo-destructive process to harvest embryonic stem cells from the inner cell mass (ICM) during the blastocyst development stage. The patent application was filed with the German Patent Office in Munich on December 23, 2004 and the patent claim was published in 2006. The patent was granted on August 1, 2013. Processing the patent application was a lengthy affair due to the fact that, for a long time, the prevailing opinion in Germany was that genetic screening of embryos (preimplantation genetic diagnosis) was prohibited under the German Embryo Protection Act (ESchG). A ruling by the German Federal Court in 2010 proved this opinion to be false. Animal studies have provided the evidence that the described procedure is technically feasible; healthy offspring were born after stem cells were harvested from the blastocyst and stored. We report here on a technique for the non-embryo-destructive extraction of pluripotent embryonic stem cells together with potential future applications for stem cells harvested in this manner.

Zusammenfassung

Am 1. August 2013 wurde vom Deutschen Patent- und Markenamt das Patent für die Patentschrift „Embryonenerhaltende Gewinnung pluripotenter embryonaler Stammzellen, derart gewonnene Stammzellen und Verwendung derselben“ (DE 10 2004 062 184 B4) erteilt. Das vorliegende Patent beschreibt ein Verfahren zur embryonenerhaltenden Gewinnung embryonaler Stammzellen aus der inneren Zellmasse (ICM) im Entwicklungsstadium der Blastocyste. Es wurde am 23. 12. 2004 beim Deutschen Patentamt in München angemeldet und 2006 als Patentanspruch offengelegt, also veröffentlicht. Rechtswirksam erteilt wurde das Patent am 1. 8. 2013. Die lange Bearbeitungsfrist ergab sich u. a. dadurch, dass in Deutschland lange Zeit die Meinung vorherrschte, dass genetische Untersuchungen am Embryo (Präimplantationsdiagnostik) nach dem Embryonenschutzgesetz (ESchG) verboten seien, was sich erst nach einem Urteil des Bundesgerichtshof im Jahre 2010 als unzutreffend erwies. Der Nachweis, dass das dargestellte Verfahren auch technisch umsetzbar ist, erfolgte im Tierversuch, nach Stammzellasservation wurde aus den Blastozysten eine gesunde Nachkommenschaft geboren. Im Artikel werden die Techniken der embryonenerhaltenden Gewinnung pluripotenter embryonaler Stammzellen beschrieben und die potenziellen Möglichkeiten einer Anwendung aufgezeigt.

Key words

stem cell extraction - embryo-preserving - preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PIGD) - preimplantation therapy (PIT)

Schlüsselwörter

Stammzellgewinnung - embryonenerhaltend - Präimplantationsdiagnostik (PID) - Präimplantationstherapie (PIT)

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