Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT)

Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT), also sometimes referred to as "therapeutic cloning", is a process in which the genetic material of an unfertilized human egg is replaced with the genetic material of a body cell. This so-called somatic cell can be a skin, heart or nerve cell  from any person. The hereby created SCNT embryo can be stimulated to initiate limited embryonic development to a stage when embryonic stem cells can be extracted 5-6 days later. These SCNT embryonic stem cells carry the genetic information of the somatic cell and are therefore 100% compatible with the somatic cell donor. This technology will facilitate the creation of disease specific and ultimately patient specific stem cell lines that hold great promise for the development of drug treatments (Davila et al., 2004; McNeish, 2004) and the transplantation of cells to treat patients suffering from so far incurable diseases like diabetes, Parkinson’s Disease, heart disease and spinal cord injuries (Hall et al., 2006b; Doss et al., 2004). Currently, cell replacement therapies using embryonic stem cells have been attacked by the host immune system. The generation of patient-specific human SCNT stem cell lines is a strategy that may circumvent immunorejection and therefore may provide alternative treatment for patients suffering from serious diseases.

SCNT techniques have been developed in several mammalian species (Munsie et al., 2000; Wang et al., 2005; Byrne et al. 2007) but techniques in human embryos are still underdeveloped and no embryonic stem cell lines have successfully been created from human SCNT embryos to date.

The most commonly used, and presumed the most optimal recipient cell type for SCNT is a mature unfertilised oocyte. In humans, these oocytes are generally only obtained in the context of an in vitro fertilisation (IVF) program and are naturally in very short supply for research use. The possibility of using oocytes that have failed to fertilise normally in the course of routine IVF and are rejected from any further clinical use would alleviate these considerations.

The Sydney IVF research team as the first laboratory in Australia has recently been granted 3 NHMRC research licenses to use consented clinically unsuitable eggs that would be otherwise discarded, to establish protocols for human SCNT.

For more information about the project and to receive the SCNT consent booklet please contact us.