New method of artificial insemination to avoid inheritance of mitochondrial disease

2023-07-01 18:41:07, Shëndeti CNA

New method of artificial insemination to avoid inheritance of mitochondrial

Doctors in the UK have announced that a baby has been born through a newly licensed IVF artificial insemination technique using the DNA of three people.

The child's mother has mitochondrial disease which can cause disorders, or even early death if passed on to the baby.

Almost every cell in our body requires energy to function. This energy is provided by mitochondrial bodies. Mitochondrial disease occurs when dysfunctional mitochondria do not produce enough energy.

The disease can lead to heart or liver disorders. It can cause neurological problems, seizures and muscle wasting and is passed from mother to child.

Now doctors are using a new artificial insemination technique to prevent this incurable disease.

Scientists at a fertility center in Newcastle in northern England removed all the chromosomes from a donor's egg, leaving only the mitochondrial DNA.

Then the mother's chromosomes were inserted into the donor egg along with the father's sperm.

The procedure is licensed by the British government regulator called the Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority.

Dagan Wells is Professor of Reproductive Genetics at the University of Oxford.

He explains that the procedure is possible because each egg contains mitochondrial DNA.

"In every cell of our body, with the exception of red blood cells, we have thousands of tiny mitochondrial bodies. The interesting thing about them is that they contain a very small amount of DNA. Their main job in the cell is to produce energy."

Mr Wells believes this technique could be a solution for a significant number of people.

According to him, 3-4 thousand women in the UK alone are at risk of passing on mitochondrial DNA disorders and about one in 5,000 children are born with this disorder.

He explains that the process transfers less than 1 percent of the mother's mitochondrial DNA.

"This technique removes the donor's genetic material from the egg. So really, it's an empty egg. It contains bodies, mitochondria and other things, but no genetic material from the donor. The patient's genetic material, her chromosomes, is then transferred to that egg. So now the egg has the patient's DNA. We see that less than 1% of total mitochondria are passed along with maternal genetic material. This should not be a cause for concern. The only problem is that it has been observed that occasionally you can have a sudden burst of mitochondria that have been transferred with the genetic material ," says Mr Wells.

According to the researcher, because the technology is new, little is known about the long-term consequences. He says little information has been gathered about studies around the world.

"Studies follow little or nothing of what happens next. So we don't know much about them in most cases, at least where this process is done to avoid a mitochondrial disorder. //In a way, it's good that this procedure is becoming licensed and highly regulated within Britain. "When the results are fully released publicly, they will be very detailed and we will really have a much better understanding of whether this technique is working well, or if there are some shortcomings or some problems," says Wells .

Mr. Wells does not believe that this method, however, will be widely used as a treatment for infertility./ VOA