Genetic Engineering

[dsmg012]

I read a bit about genetic engineering and came across 2 different kinds of it,

 

the first type, Somatic gene therapy, happens after birth and is used to treat specific areas of the body by editing specific somatic cells genomes.

 

the second type, Germline gene therapy, happens before birth and is done by modifying the genetic code of a germ cell so that the entire organism which sprouts from it will have a modified genetic makeup.

 

and it raised a question in my mind.

 

let's say you have a terrible inherited disease which is treatable by somatic gene therapy, so you pay a tremendous amount of money and go through a strenuous amount of procedures and check ups, until finally after a couple of years of treatment you are finally declared cured.

 

by the very definition of somatic gene therapy, your treatments did not change your germ cells, which means your disease would be carried on to your offspring so that they would have to undergo the same obnoxious treatments him/her self...

if you want to save them from this dreadful fate you would have to use germline gene therapy which is both illegal and (sometimes) immoral.

 

and even if they will someday become legal for use in certain situations and you will be given permission to use it, you will still be wasting time money and effort on something you got rid of once before, and force your loved one to get involved in it as well...

 

so my question is this:

is it possible to have in the foreseeable future a research that aims to change an adult entire genetic makeup so that his/her new genetic code will spread to each and every cell in his body including his/her germ cells?

further more, do you know of any research that is trying to accomplish this today?

[Endy0816]

You are probably not the sole donor of genetic material and you can also screen for genetic disorders prior to.

 

Whole body isn't terribly realistic and more than a little dangerous in terms of causing genetic damage.

Edited August 8, 2014 by Endy0816

[dsmg012]

You are probably not the sole donor of genetic material and you can also screen sperm(and hence problem genes) prior to.

you could, but you would have to do it each and every time you and your partner decide to have a child.

also the procedures are awful for the woman and even then may take years to accomplish successfully.

and that's without mentioning the amount of money it will cost...

[Strange]

If you have this hypothetical magic therapy that "fixes" the genes in all of your cells, then that will, by defintion, include the cells that create your sperm (or the pre-existing ova for a woman). Therefore the defect will not be present to be passed on.

[dsmg012]

If you have this hypothetical magic therapy that "fixes" the genes in all of your cells, then that will, by defintion, include the cells that create your sperm (or the pre-existing ova for a woman). Therefore the defect will not be present to be passed on.

"magic"...

this is my question.

is it even possible?

and if so, is there any attempt you are aware of of trying to make it a reality?

[Strange]

"magic"...

this is my question.

is it even possible?

and if so, is there any attempt you are aware of of trying to make it a reality?

 

I suppose it is possible in principle. Maybe using a virus to infect and modify all your cells. But it is decades away, I would assume, at best. Maybe centuries. I don't know (predictions are hard, especially about the future). I am not aware of research in the area (but that doesn't mean much).

[Endy0816]

We can't guarantee at present that every cell will be altered or that they will be altered in the correct fashion.

 

Depending on the disorder and chromosome makeup of the parents there would probably be a simpler solution.

[Delta1212]

You'd have to spend money to cure the disease in your children despite already going through the treatment yourself, true, but once the germline "correction" is made, that covers all future generations.

 

This goes to the fact that, yeah, it's not "fair" that people miss out on treatments that could have helped them but arrived too late, but that's the nature of medical technology. We develop new treatments because people need them, which mean there are and we're inevitably people who needed it before it was available and didn't get it.