Responsible Translational Pathways for Germline Gene Editing?

Affiliations

PMID: 32844082
PMCID: PMC7441015
DOI: 10.1007/s40778-020-00179-x

Free PMC article

Abstract

Purpose of review: Continued development of gene editing techniques has raised the real possibility of clinical application of germline gene editing. These results, as well as reports of an unethical experiment which resulted in the birth of at least two children from edited embryos in 2018, have highlighted the urgency and importance of ethical issues about translational pathways for editing of human germline cells. Charting responsible translational pathways for germline gene editing requires tackling some significant and complex ethical issues.

Recent findings: A literature on development of clinical applications of germline gene editing is emerging, and several key ethical issues are coming into focus as major challenges for responsible translational pathways.

Summary: Potential clinical utility, clinical justification, and human subjects research for germline gene editing raise outstanding ethical questions. Work on these questions will help provide guidance to researchers and clinicians and direct translational projects toward justifiable applications.

Keywords: Clinical utility; Ethics; Gene editing; Germline; Human subjects research; Reproductive medicine.

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of InterestDr. Cwik reports grants from the National Human Genome Research Institute during the conduct of the study; and the author is a member of the external advisory board for the Oregon Health and Science University Center for Embryonic Cell and Gene Therapy. Members of this center were involved in public research discussed in this paper.