Читать книгу The SAGE Encyclopedia of Stem Cell Research - Группа авторов - Страница 108

In the 1980s, Australian researchers began making significant discoveries in stem cell research. Teams that included Bik To and Chris Juttner of the Institute of Medical and Veterinary Science and the Royal Adelaide Hospital and a team led by Don Metcalf at WEHI /Royal Melbourne Hospital demonstrated that hematopoietic stem cells have the ability to mobilize into peripheral blood. Alan Trounson was involved in the early stages of in vitro fertilization (IVF) research that led to the birth of the first in vitro fertilization babies born in Australia. Perry Bartlett identified renewable brain cells, and Nick Gough led his team to identify the leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) that results in a pluripotent state in the stem cells of mice.

Two of the most significant contributions to stem cell research were the findings of Alan Metcalf and his colleagues at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute in Melbourne involving the regulation of the immune system by growth factors and signaling pathways and the identification of the relationships between hematopoietic stem cells and their offspring. By 1998, researchers, including Alan Trounson and Martin Pera, were advocating the use of embryonic stem cells for developing treatments for disease and severe injuries. A consortium of Australian and Singaporean researchers created some of the first hES cell lines and established Embryonic Stem Cell International.

In the early 21st century, following the mapping of the human genome, Australia joined other industrialized nations in accelerating the pace of stem cell research. Australia became one of the first countries in the world to develop a strategy for bringing local and regional governments and private industries into the emerging field. With the new focus on stem cell research, ethical debates heightened. In 2002, Parliament passed the Research Involving Human Embryos Act and the Prohibition of Human Cloning Act. Like the British system on which Australia is based, members of Parliament (MPs) are expected to vote strictly along party lines. However, MPs were allowed to vote according to conscience on the two stem cell laws. Together, the acts prohibited any form of human cloning and placed strict regulations on how excess human embryos were to be handled. Scientists were still allowed to conduct research on human embryos that had been created on or before April 15, 2002. With a three-year moratorium on cloning in place, Parliament stipulated that the laws would be revisited in three years to address new advances in stem cell research. Top researchers began pressuring the government to create a state-sponsored facility to conduct stem cell research.

Founded in 2003, The Australian Stem Cell Centre focuses on regenerative medicine through the use of stem cells. In 2008, the center began working with induced pluripotent (iPS) cells—artificially created embryonic stem cells. (Australian Stem Cell Center)

Significant changes took place in the Australian stem cell research community when the issue of embryonic stem cell research was reviewed in 2005, and Parliament passed the Reregulation of Human Embryos Research Act the following year. Somatic cell nuclear transfer, which had been banned in 2002, became legal but was still subject to intense scrutiny. With the moratorium lifted, the Australian Health Ethics Committee was established under the auspices of the National Health and Medical Council to handle applications for licenses to engage in therapeutic cloning. Inspectors were also charged with monitoring compliance with new guidelines issued by the National Health and Medical Council. The first license was issued in 2005, and only nine more were issued over the next four years. Australia continues to restrict the production of eggs and sperm solely for purposes of research. States and territories also regulate stem cell research activity.

In 2013, Australia’s National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) announced that it was placing a five-year ban on all xenotransplantation trials in human beings, making it illegal to use animal stem cells in human therapies. A ban on using animal organs in humans had been issued in 2004. The chief reason for the bans was the fear that hybrid transplants could create new viruses. The board insisted that little evidence existed to support the success of xenotransplantation but reiterated its support for human stem cell research and therapies.