What Is Therapeutic Cloning Used For?

Therapeutic cloning is the derivation of stem cells from nuclear transfer of the patient's own cells. Embryonic stem cells can take the shape of any of the different cell types that constitute the organism, and a transplant of specialized cells derived from embryonic material can repair damaged tissues in sufferers of many diseases. However, the immune system of the patient is likely to reject the transplanted embryonic cells unless therapeutic cloning is used to make the cells compatible with the patient's immune system.

Self-Transplants

• Finding an immunologically compatible organ is a major challenge for any kind of tissue and organ transplant. With therapeutic cloning, the patient's own cells are expanded in a culture medium and then reintroduced into the patient. The procedure greatly reduces the risk of immune rejection and can ease the problem of a shortage of organs for transplantation. It's easier to perform self-transplants of tissues without a complex organized structure, but successful experiments have been done involving the creation of whole organs.

Leukemia

• Leukemia is a cancer of the blood cells that results from leukocytes growing and functioning abnormally. Sometimes, the abnormal cells cannot be eliminated by chemotherapy alone. In those situations, doctors eliminate the abnormal leukocytes and the existing bone marrow that produced them using an aggressive combination of chemotherapy and radiation. Afterward, they introduce a sample of bone marrow taken from a donor into the patient's bloodstream. Therapeutic cloning makes self-transplants possible, improving the chances of a successful treatment.

Degenerative Diseases

• Therapeutic cloning has successfully treated several degenerative diseases in mice. For instance, mice suffering the equivalent of Parkinson's disease can be treated using neuron implants derived from the mouse's own genes, alleviating the tremors and muscular stiffness the mouse experienced due to neuron deterioration.
  A similar treatment can control diabetes mellitus; in this process, stem cells differentiate into endocrine cells that produce most pancreatic hormones, including insulin.

Spinal Cord Repair

• Lesions of the spinal cord often result in permanent paralysis because damaged neuronal connections are basically irreparable. Treatments for reversing paralysis caused by spinal cord damage are still in the future, but ample research shows the feasibility of using therapeutic cloning to reduce the formation of scar tissue and regenerate damaged neurons.

Skin Grafts for Burn Victims

• Unlike neurons, skill cells regenerate readily. However, in the case of burn victims this regeneration may not be fast enough. Burn patients risk dehydration and infection as the natural healing slowly proceeds from the healthy tissue toward the damaged areas. However, tests in mice prove the viability of using stem cells to duplicate the biological steps that take place during skin formation in embryos. This procedure can provide a temporary lab-grown skin replacement for burn victims.