Public attitudes in Japan towards human-animal chimeric embryo research using human induced pluripotent stem cells

Opinions on research involving human embryo models by researchers and the general public

Rules and ethical considerations regarding research on embryo models have been debated across numerous countries. In this paper, we provide insights from our attitude survey conducted among Japanese researchers, including members of the Japanese Society for Regenerative Medicine, and among the general public residing in Japan, the US, the UK, Canada, and Australia. Our survey revealed that many researchers expressed the need for clear guidelines for embryo model research. Furthermore, a minority but significant portion of the general public in each country expressed opposition to research on embryo models but did not oppose research involving real embryos.

Attitudes towards human fetal tissue research: Survey of researchers and the public in Japan

Introduction

The rules for human fetal tissue (HFT) research in Japan are unclear.

Methods

In this paper, we conducted a web survey to examine the attitudes of Japanese researchers (n=535) and the public (n=3,000) toward HFT research.

Results

The results demonstrated that 5.8% of researchers and 18.8% of the public explicitly opposed HFT research, and 71.8% of the researchers thought that the rules for HFT research need to be clarified. Even among researchers who intended to consider conducting HFT research, 74.2% responded that the rules should be clarified. Although different from attitudes to make decisions regarding HFT donation, being non-religious and in their reproductive age among women in the public group were factors for accepting attitudes toward HFT research.

Conclusion

To establish the rules, it is necessary to develop a system that can adequately protect vulnerable women who are asked to provide HFT.

A comparative analysis of attitudes toward stem cell research and regenerative medicine between six countries – A pilot study

Introduction

Breakthroughs in stem cell research (SCR) and regenerative medicine (RM) have attracted significant public attention worldwide. Simultaneously, scientific communities and science policies have tried to establish appropriate governance of SCR and RM. In this context, effective communication between scientific communities and the public is regarded as a key factor. However, the diversity of public attitudes and interests has not been sufficiently examined, especially the differences across countries.

Methods

We conducted an international comparison of public attitudes toward SCR and RM. We circulated an internet questionnaire among people in six countries: Japan, South Korea, the United States, the UK, Germany, and France. We collected 100 valid responses from each country, and a total of 600 responses were obtained.

Results

Our key findings are the diversity of interests in RM, which can be expressed as user pragmatism, governance and handling of RM, risk, and benefit, and scientific interests. The priority of interests varied across the six countries, and the variations may be influenced by the political, social, cultural, and media contexts of SCR and RM in each country.

Conclusion

The implications can contribute to a deeper understanding of the diversity of public attitudes, and bring about an appropriate examination of a wide range of ethical and social concerns of SCR and RM in global contexts.

•

There are differences in public attitudes and expected RM across six countries.

•

There are types of interests in RM, such as user pragmatism, governance and handling of RM, etc.

•

Recognition of keywords of iPSCs is very high in Japan, comparing to other countries.

•

The trust of experts on RM are different across countries.

Interspecies Chimeric Barriers for Generating Exogenic Organs and Cells for Transplantation

A growing need for organs and novel cell-based therapies has provided a niche for approaches like interspecies chimeras. To generate organs from one donor species in another host species requires techniques such as blastocyst complementation and gene editing to successfully create an embryo that has cells from both the donor and the host. However, the task of developing highly efficacious and competent interspecies chimeras is met by many challenges. These interspecies chimeric barriers impede the formation of chimeras, often leading to lower levels of chimeric competency. The barriers that need to be addressed include the evolutionary distance between species, stage-matching, temporal and spatial synchronization of developmental timing, interspecies cell competition and the survival of pluripotent stem cells and embryos, compatibility of ligand–receptor signaling between species, and the ethical concerns of forming such models. By overcoming the interspecies chimera barriers and creating highly competent chimeras, the technology of organ and cellular generation can be honed and refined to develop fully functioning exogenic organs, tissues, and cells for transplantation.

Should you need an organ… Flemish secondary school students' attitudes toward xenotransplantation and transgenetic organ donation

BACKGROUND

The supply of human organs available for transplantation remains grossly inadequate globally. Animal-to-human transplantation, and even more so humanized organ grown in animals, holds promising results for the start of clinical trials in humans. Very little is known about the public's willingness to accept different xenotransplantation techniques. This study aims to determine attitudes toward human-to-human transplantation, animal-to-human transplantation, and chimera-to-human transplantation in the Belgium context.

METHODS

Secondary school students from Flanders, Belgium, were surveyed between January and June 2019. Socio-demographic details likely to influence participants' attitudes were gathered. Participants were presented with three hypothetical cases (human-to-human transplantation, animal-to-human transplantation, and chimera-to-human transplantation) and asked about their willingness to accept the particular organ. Their risk appetite to accept organs with potentially worse outcomes than the status quo was also evaluated.

RESULTS

Seven hundred forty-one complete questionnaires were analyzed. It can be concluded that Flemish secondary school students favored the techniques of xenotransplantation to a lesser extent than allotransplantation; however, most of them did consider it a good solution for organ shortage. Compared to animal-to-human transplantation, chimera-to-human transplantation showed a more positive attitude among the respondents when considered a good organ transplantation solution.

CONCLUSION

Flemish secondary school students favored the techniques of xenotransplantation to a lesser extent than allotransplantation; however, most of them did consider it a good solution for organ shortage. In comparison to animal-to-human transplantation, chimera-to-human transplantation showed a more positive attitude among the respondents when considered a good solution for organ transplantation.

Public attitudes in Japan toward the creation and use of gametes derived from human-induced pluripotent stem cells

AIM

To ascertain to what extent the Japanese general public accept the creation and use of in vitro derived (IVD)-gametes derived from human-induced pluripotent stem cells.

MATERIALS & METHODS

We conducted an online survey and obtained answers from 3096 respondents.

RESULTS

78.6% of the respondents answered that they would accept the creation and use of IVD-gametes for research purposes, 51.7% answered that they would accept the creation and use of embryos with IVD-gametes for research purposes, and 25.9% answered that they would accept childbirth using embryos with IVD-gametes.

DISCUSSION

The results that approximately half of the respondents answered that they would accept the creation of embryos with IVD-gametes, which has not been allowed in the current Japanese research guidelines, is astonishing.

The new Japanese regulation on human/non-human chimeras: should we worry?

In March 2019 Japan modified its norms regarding research with human/non-human chimeras. The amended rules allow the creation of chimeras with human brain cells, and the subsequent transfer of the resulting creature to an uterus, where it can develop for more than 14 days, eventually until term. At this moment, the real consequences of this new regulation in actual research are still uncertain. However, many concerning issues have already been identified. This paper will start by addressing traditional topics involving this practice: the use of non-human animals in research, the use of human stem cells in scientific experimentation and the creation of human/non-human chimeras. Subsequently, it will analyze the new concerning issues brought on by the 2019 amendment: the use of human brain cells, the transfer of the chimera to an uterus and its development for more than 14 days, and the possibility of using animals which present close similarities with humans. In the end, the paper will conclude that in spite of the legal and ethical hazards that this new regulation might carry, it should be allowed under strict scrutiny.

The American Public Is Ready to Accept Human-Animal Chimera Research

We report findings from a new survey of US public attitudes toward human-animal chimeric embryo (HACE) research, designed to compare with recently reported Japanese survey data. We find that 59% of the US public can personally accept the process of injecting human induced pluripotent stem cells into genetically modified swine embryos and having human tissues produced in a pig's body transplanted into a human. This is greater acceptance than in Japan, and there is even strong acceptance among those with strong religious affiliations and who self-identify as conservatives. We argue that strong public support for HACE research, as well as the emerging literature suggesting that humanization of research animals is very unlikely, should compel the NIH to lift its current moratorium on HACE research.

Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells and Their Use in Human Models of Disease and Development

The discovery of somatic cell nuclear transfer proved that somatic cells can carry the same genetic code as the zygote, and that activating parts of this code are sufficient to reprogram the cell to an early developmental state. The discovery of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) nearly half a century later provided a molecular mechanism for the reprogramming. The initial creation of iPSCs was accomplished by the ectopic expression of four specific genes (OCT4, KLF4, SOX2, and c-Myc; OSKM). iPSCs have since been acquired from a wide range of cell types and a wide range of species, suggesting a universal molecular mechanism. Furthermore, cells have been reprogrammed to iPSCs using a myriad of methods, although OSKM remains the gold standard. The sources for iPSCs are abundant compared with those for other pluripotent stem cells; thus the use of iPSCs to model the development of tissues, organs, and other systems of the body is increasing. iPSCs also, through the reprogramming of patient samples, are being used to model diseases. Moreover, in the 10 years since the first report, human iPSCs are already the basis for new cell therapies and drug discovery that have reached clinical application. In this review, we examine the generation of iPSCs and their application to disease and development.