Zhaodi Liao et al., Nature CommunicationsThe cloned rhesus monkey ReTro, here seventeen months old
NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 17:16
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Bouwe van Straten
Science Editor
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Bouwe van Straten
Science Editor
Chinese scientists have successfully cloned a rhesus monkey. The monkey, called ReTro, is now two years old and still healthy, they say today known in the scientific journal Nature Communications. The new study shows that scientists are getting better at the technique of primate cloning.
It is the first time that a rhesus monkey, a species of monkey that is often used for animal drug testing, has been successfully cloned and born healthy. Thanks to the new method, a higher percentage of clones can be successfully born, says researcher Qiang Sun: “We therefore need fewer embryos and surrogate mothers to obtain cloned monkeys.”
‘Important step forward’
“This is a technical breakthrough in the field of cloning,” says Niels Geijsen, professor of regenerative medicine at the Leiden University Medical Center and not involved in the study. “Some of the problems that have existed with cloning to date appear to have been overcome.”
Developmental biologist Christine Mummery, also from the LUMC, also thinks it is an important step: “It is special that this technique offers a better chance of survival. This is the first time, in previous studies the cloned monkeys died quite quickly.”
Qiang SunThe cloned rhesus monkey ReTro is now two years old and still healthy
A problem with cloning is ‘resetting’ the cell used for cloning. In a skin cell, often used for cloning, specific genes are extra – or less – active. These settings must all be reset to zero. “Genes for growth in particular are often not reset properly,” Geijsen explains, “as a result the fetus becomes too big or too small.” Thanks to the healthy placenta, that problem did not occur with ReTro.
The researchers in this new study started with two embryos, one created through cloning and the other through IVF. The researchers then combined the embryonic cells of the cloned embryo with the placental cells of the IVF embryo. This allowed the placenta to develop better.
In 2018, two baby monkeys were cloned. At the time, scientists were skeptical that they could age healthily. But Zhong Zhong and Hua Hua, as the monkeys are called, are now six years old and are still in good health.
Laboratory animals
Rhesus monkeys are often used as laboratory animals because they resemble humans in many ways. In Europe and the US the aim is to use fewer, or even no, laboratory animals. At the Hubrecht Institute in Utrecht, for example, mini organs are grown from human cells, on which you can also test all kinds of medicines. “But for some medicines you need the entire system. So you will have to test them on laboratory animals.”
The cloning technique may play a role in reducing animal suffering. Because clones are genetically identical, you need fewer animals to get reliable results. This means that smaller numbers can be tested.
This breakthrough has not brought human cloning any closer, Geijsen emphasizes: “Technically this is already possible; human cells were already cloned in the US years ago. But there is not a single country in the world where it is allowed to clone a human baby. to make”.
2024-01-16 16:16:22
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