therapeutic cloning

n. The production of embryonic stem cells for use in replacing or repairing damaged tissues or organs, achieved by transferring a diploid nucleus from a body cell into an egg whose nucleus has been removed and by harvesting cells from the resulting blastocyst.

therapeutic cloning

n 1. (Medicine) the permitted creation of cloned human tissues for surgical transplant 2. (Genetics) the permitted creation of cloned human tissues for surgical transplant

Thesaurus

Noun

therapeutic cloning - nuclear transplantation of a patient's own cells to make an oocyte from which immune-compatible cells (especially stem cells) can be derived for transplantbiomedical cloningcloning - a general term for the research activity that creates a copy of some biological entity (a gene or organism or cell)nuclear transplantation, SCNT, somatic cell nuclear transfer, somatic cell nuclear transplantation - moving a cell nucleus and its genetic material from one cell to another

therapeutic cloning

Cloning in which the nucleus of a somatic—i.e., non-germinal/reproductive—cell is transferred into an egg from which the nucleus has been previously removed, in order generate an embryonic stem-cell line, which has the advantage of pluripotency—i.e., the ability to differentiate along multiple pathways except the reproductive pathway

therapeutic cloning

Molecular medicine The cloning of human cell lines to replace nonfunctional tissue. See Cloning.

therapeutic cloning

medical and scientific applications of cloning (see CLONE that do not result in the production of genetically-identical foetuses, but rather involve the use of STEM CELLS grown IN VITRO to provide specific cell lines. Essentially a form of TISSUE CULTURE to produce human stem cells and ultimately TISSUES and ORGANS for transplantation. Therapeutic cloning is so called because of the potential therapeutic benefits stem cells possess to alleviate or even cure such debilitating diseases as PARKINSON'S DISEASE, ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE,

DIABETES, stroke, BONE diseases, HEART diseases and SPINAL CORD injuries. By culturing stem cells in the presence of, for example, specific HORMONES they may be able to differentiate into different cell types, including NERVE CELLS for treatment of Parkinson's disease, INSULIN-producing ISLET cells for diabetes, or heart muscle cells for heart diseases. Such an approach would be likely to avoid problems of transplant rejection (see TRANSPLANTATION), if the cells are genetically-identical to the patients’ own. Ethical problems (see BIOETHICS).surround the use of embryonic stem cells in therapeutic cloning because a human embryo has to be found. This may be from a frozen embryo, surplus to requirements for IVF treatment, an aborted FOETUS or an EMBRYO produced using nuclear transfer procedures.Sometimes therapeutic cloning is called spare part cloning.

therapeutic cloning

therapeutic cloning

therapeutic cloning

therapeutic cloning

therapeutic cloning

therapeutic cloning

therapeutic cloning

therapeutic cloning

Synonyms for therapeutic cloning

noun nuclear transplantation of a patient's own cells to make an oocyte from which immune-compatible cells (especially stem cells) can be derived for transplant

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