• The discovery only three years ago of a precise gene-editing tool (known as CRISPR-Cas9) has revived that debate yet again, not least with the first application, by Kathy Niakan of the Crick institute , to use CRISPR experimentally (not therapeutically) on very early human embryos. (mattridley.co.uk)
  • The aim of the research, led by Crick Group Leader Dr Kathy Niakan, is to understand the genes human embryos need to develop successfully. (crick.ac.uk)
  • The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has renewed Crick group leader Kathy Niakan 's licence to edit human embryos, allowing her team to continue their research into early human development. (crick.ac.uk)
  • But lead scientist Dr Kathy Niakan said that the research could fundamentally change our understanding of human biology and give hope to prospective parents. (redice.tv)
  • A spokesman for the HFEA said: "Our Licence Committee has approved an application from Dr Kathy Niakan of the Francis Crick Institute to renew her laboratory's research licence to include gene editing of embryos. (redice.tv)
  • Dr Kathy Niakan from the Francis Crick Institute, who led the research, adds: "One way to find out what a gene does in the developing embryo is to see what happens when it isn't working. (nihr.ac.uk)
  • Kathy Niakan and colleagues are providing new understanding of the genes responsible for a crucial change when groups of cells in the very early embryo first become organised and set on different paths of development. (nihr.ac.uk)
  • Dr Kathy Niakan (pictured), from the Francis Crick Institute in London, wants to use a new technique called CRISPR/Cas9 to "edit" genes in day-old human embryos left over from IVF in order to discover what role they play in normal embryo development. (blogspot.com)
  • The research team will be led by Dr Kathy Niakan at the Francis Crick Institute in London and hopes to further our understanding of the genes involved in a human embryo developing successfully into a healthy baby. (geneblitz.com)
  • Developmental biologist Kathy Niakan has received permission from the UK HFEA to edit the genome of embryos. (bioedge.org)
  • Developmental biologist Kathy Niakan has received permission from the UK Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority (HFEA) to edit the genome of human embryos using the new CRISPR technology. (bioedge.org)
  • However, in November 2015, a group of Chinese scientists used the gene-editing technique CRISPR/Cas9 to edit single-celled, non-viable embryos to see the effectiveness of this technique. (wikipedia.org)
  • In May 2019, lawyers in China reported, in light of the purported creation by He Jiankui of the first gene-edited humans, the drafting of regulations that anyone manipulating the human genome by gene-editing techniques, like CRISPR, would be held responsible for any related adverse consequences. (wikipedia.org)
  • Although the CRISPR/Cas9 can be used in humans, it is more commonly used by scientists in other animal models or cell culture systems, including in experiments to learn more about genes that could be involved in human diseases. (wikipedia.org)
  • A recorded presentation on 'CRISPR and Human Genome Editing: Progress & Opportunities' by Jennifer Doudna, Li Ka Shing Chancellor's Chair Professor in the Department of Chemistry and the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, USA, is available to watch . (royalsociety.org)
  • Frequent loss-of-heterozygosity in CRISPR-Cas9-edited early human embryos. (tomorrowsci.com)
  • A suite of experiments that use the gene-editing tool CRISPR-Cas9 to modify human embryos have revealed how the process can make large, unwanted changes to the genome at or near the target site . (frogheart.ca)
  • Previous work using CRISPR in mouse embryos and other kinds of human cell had already demonstrated that editing chromosomes can cause large, unwanted effects 4,5 . (frogheart.ca)
  • F requent loss-of-heterozygosity in CRISPR-Cas9-edited early human embryos by Gregorio Alanis-Lobato, Jasmin Zohren, Afshan McCarthy, Norah M.E. Fogarty, Nada Kubikova, Emily Hardman, Maria Greco, Dagan Wells, James M.A. Turner, Kathy K. Niakan. (frogheart.ca)
  • To inactivate OCT4, they used an editing technique called CRISPR/Cas9 to change the DNA of 41 human embryos. (nihr.ac.uk)
  • CRISPR , however, can be applied with great precision and there is the very real possibility that it might be used in the future to treat - or perhaps even prevent - some genetic diseases by correcting genetic defects in embryos or foetuses. (blogspot.com)
  • The UK's Human Fertilisation and Embryo Authority (HFEA) has given its approval for studies using the gene-editing technique CRISPR to be used in human embryos. (geneblitz.com)
  • Niakan plans to use CRISPR to study a series of genes thought to be involved in early embryonic development. (geneblitz.com)
  • These problems mean that only about 20-30% of attempts to edit human genomes are successful, at least on trials of CRISPR for thalassaemia, which similarly involved knocking out a single gene. (unherd.com)
  • A CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology that has shown promise in clearing HIV from mice is headed into human testing. (genomics.ca)
  • British scientists have been granted permission to genetically modify human embryos by the fertility regulator. (redice.tv)
  • A scientist made her case last week to be the first in the UK to be allowed to genetically modify human embryos. (blogspot.com)
  • The Third International Summit on Human Genome Editing took place on 6-8 March 2023 at the Francis Crick Institute, London UK. (royalsociety.org)
  • The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has approved a research application from the Francis Crick Institute to use new genome editing techniques on human embryos. (crick.ac.uk)
  • We were surprised to see just how crucial this gene is for human embryo development, but we need to continue our work to confirm its role" says Dr Norah Fogarty from the Francis Crick Institute, first author of the study. (nihr.ac.uk)
  • Niakan, a researcher at the Francis Crick Institute in London, plans to investigate the genetic make-up needed for an embryo to develop into a healthy baby. (bioedge.org)
  • A genetically modified human contains a genetic makeup that has been selected or altered, often to include a particular gene or to remove genes associated with disease. (wikipedia.org)
  • This process usually involves analyzing human embryos to identify genes associated with disease, and selecting embryos that have the desired genetic makeup - a process known as PGD, or Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis. (wikipedia.org)
  • He has had long-standing interests in the biology of stem cells, in how genes work in the context of embryo development, and how decisions of cell fate are made. (royalsociety.org)
  • Kathy's research focuses on the first 14 days of embryo development, looking at the key genes and factors that tell the cells in the embryo what to do. (crick.ac.uk)
  • The scientists want to deactivate genes in leftover embryos from IVF clinics to see if it hinders development. (redice.tv)
  • If scientists knew which genes were crucial for healthy cell division, then they could screen out embryos where their DNA was not working properly, potentially preventing miscarriages and aiding fertility. (redice.tv)
  • The initial pilot, which will also have to pass an ethics evaluation, will involve up to 30 embryos and the team would like to work on a further three genes, which could bring the total of to 120. (redice.tv)
  • We would really like to understand the genes that are needed for an embryo to develop into a healthy baby," she told a briefing in central London last month. (redice.tv)
  • If we knew the key genes that embryos need to develop successfully, we could improve IVF treatments and understand some causes of pregnancy failure. (nihr.ac.uk)
  • If this is successful she plans to move on to testing 3-4 other genes, each again using a further 20-30 embryos. (blogspot.com)
  • However Niakan argues that the genes she wishes to study are sufficiently different from their equivalents in animals to justify doing the research on human embryos. (blogspot.com)
  • Some parts of our DNA are highly active during this stage but how our genes are guiding early embryonic development is poorly understood. (geneblitz.com)
  • This approach should help to determine which genes are critical to which specific types of tissues in the early embryo. (geneblitz.com)
  • Humans can, theoretically, change the genetic basis of various traits and correct disease causing mutated genes. (kkartlab.in)
  • Altering genes in sperm, eggs or embryos can spread those changes to future generations, so-called germline engineering that might one day stop parents from passing inherited diseases to their children. (kkartlab.in)
  • In line with HFEA regulations, any donated embryos will be used for research purposes only and cannot be used in treatment. (crick.ac.uk)
  • The study was done under a research licence and strict regulatory oversight from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), the UK Government's independent regulator overseeing infertility treatment and research. (nihr.ac.uk)
  • The regulator, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), considered her application last Thursday and will give a ruling later this month ( Nature , Guardian , Mail , Telegraph ). (blogspot.com)
  • The HFEA, which grants licenses for experimentation on embryos, sperm and eggs in the UK, approved the research at a license committee meeting on January 14. (bioedge.org)
  • In Britain, human genome editing is regulated by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA). (unherd.com)
  • The HFEA allows human embryos to be edited. (unherd.com)
  • Scientists Edited Human Embryos in the Lab, and It Was a Disaster. (tomorrowsci.com)
  • These pluripotent stem cell lines could help scientists to study and better understand human diseases at a cellular level and potentially develop new therapies. (crick.ac.uk)
  • It has ignored the warnings of over a hundred scientists worldwide and given permission for a procedure which could have damaging far-reaching implications for human beings. (redice.tv)
  • Other concerns have focused on the CCR5 gene, which scientists at the conference said is crucial to the human immune system. (cnn.com)
  • These safety concerns are likely to inform the ongoing debate over whether scientists should edit human embryos to prevent genetic diseases - a process that is controversial because it creates a permanent change to the genome that can be passed down for generations. (frogheart.ca)
  • This is the first time that genome editing has been used to study gene function in human embryos, which could help scientists to better understand the biology of our early development. (nihr.ac.uk)
  • This is the first time UK scientists have been given approval to use DNA-altering techniques in human embryos. (geneblitz.com)
  • Chinese scientists have successfully created chimeric embryos containing a combination of human and pig cells. (bioedge.org)
  • Scientists had conceived of the Human Genome Project in the 1980s, and, in the first half of the 1990s, expected it to be an endeavor that would go on for decades. (genomics.ca)
  • Chinese scientists reported the first-known attempt to edit human embryos last spring, working with leftovers from fertility clinics that never could have developed into fetuses. (kkartlab.in)
  • There are frequent "off-target effects" - basically, unwanted mutations introduced by the procedure - and "chimeras", where some of the cells in the embryo are successfully edited, but others aren't, so you end up with a patchwork embryo, half-full of cells which still have the gene you wanted to remove. (unherd.com)
  • only a small fraction of the embryos successfully incorporated the new genetic material and many of the embryos contained a large number of random mutations. (wikipedia.org)
  • Most embryos donated under the current licence come from couples who have successfully completed IVF and want their stored embryos to be used for research. (crick.ac.uk)
  • The renewal builds on the existing licence and will allow for a broader range of research activity including creating embryos from donated sperm and eggs. (crick.ac.uk)
  • Creating embryos from donated sperm and eggs is an important next step in our research," explains Kathy. (crick.ac.uk)
  • In a typical in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment, approximately a dozen eggs from the woman are mixed with sperm in the lab to create embryos. (crick.ac.uk)
  • This international criticism is mainly driven by concerns about safety and unforeseen consequences - introducing genetic changes into a day old embryo will mean that any genetic change will be expressed in every cell of the developing human being, including reproductive cells (sperm and egg), and will therefore be passed on down the generations. (blogspot.com)
  • The team used genome editing techniques to stop a key gene from producing a protein called OCT4, which normally becomes active in the first few days of human embryo development. (nihr.ac.uk)
  • This knowledge may improve embryo development after in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and might provide better clinical treatments for infertility, using conventional medical methods. (crick.ac.uk)
  • Being able to introduce edits at the point of fertilisation will allow the team to study the earliest stages of embryo development and achieve reliable results using fewer embryos. (crick.ac.uk)
  • Human embryo polarization requires PLC signaling to mediate trophectoderm specification. (caltech.edu)
  • Our understanding of the molecular events driving cell specification in early mammalian development relies mainly on mouse studies, and it remains unclear whether these mechanisms are conserved across mammals, including humans. (bvsalud.org)
  • This positive autoregulation of FGF signaling, coupled with the repression of BMP signaling, may contribute to the specification of reproducible and coherent cohorts of cells with the same identity via a community effect, both in the embryo and in synthetic embryo-like systems. (biologists.com)
  • Keratin 5-Cre-driven excision of nonmuscle myosin IIA in early embryo trophectoderm leads to placenta defects and embryonic lethality. (shengsci.com)
  • We have shown that the establishment of cell polarity via aPKC is a conserved event in the initiation of the trophectoderm (TE) placental programme in mouse, cow and human embryos. (bvsalud.org)
  • The reason why I think this is so important is that most human embryos fail to reach the blastocyst stage. (redice.tv)
  • The study found that human embryos need OCT4 to correctly form a blastocyst. (nihr.ac.uk)
  • The pipeline makes possible the analysis of confocal imaging data acquired from preimplantation human embryos at blastocyst stage. (figshare.com)
  • Through several stages, the pipeline first performs nuclear segmentation throughout the entire human blastocyst, including the inner cell mass. (figshare.com)
  • Here, we show that KLF17 is expressed coincident with the known pluripotency-associated factors NANOG and SOX2 across human blastocyst development. (bvsalud.org)
  • Under the existing licence, patients at fertility clinics can choose to donate their surplus embryos to the research. (crick.ac.uk)
  • Human pluripotent stem cells, with their ability to proliferate indefinitely and to differentiate into virtually all cell types of the human body, provide a novel resource to study human development and to implement relevant disease models. (mdpi.com)
  • Here, we employed a human pancreatic differentiation platform complemented with an shRNA screen in human pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) to identify potential drivers of early endoderm and pancreatic development. (mdpi.com)
  • Dr Niakan's proposed research is important for understanding how a healthy human embryo develops and will enhance our understanding of IVF success rates, by looking at the very earliest stage of human development - one to seven days. (crick.ac.uk)
  • Donated embryos remain vital to our work, but to study the very earliest stages of development we need to start at day zero. (crick.ac.uk)
  • Between day five and seven of human development and embryo has around 200 cells of three different types. (redice.tv)
  • Dr Niakan said: "If you imagine the genome as volumes in an encyclopaedia, at some point in the development some of the cells will start to read a different volume compared to its neighbour cell. (redice.tv)
  • Researchers have used genome editing technology to reveal the role of a key gene in human embryos in the first few days of development. (nihr.ac.uk)
  • After seven days, embryo development was stopped and the embryos were analysed. (nihr.ac.uk)
  • As well as human embryo development, OCT4 is thought to be important in stem cell biology. (nihr.ac.uk)
  • The study has been carried out with full regulatory oversight and offers new knowledge of the biological processes at work in the first five or six days of a human embryo's healthy development. (nihr.ac.uk)
  • Dr. Kay Elder, study co-author from the Bourn Hall Clinic, says: "Successful IVF treatment is crucially dependent on culture systems that provide an optimal environment for healthy embryo development. (nihr.ac.uk)
  • She plans to start with a gene called Oct 4, which is thought to have a critical role in embryo development, using 20-30 donated embryos. (blogspot.com)
  • These data provide insight into epigenetic errors that may be associated with the poor development of embryos generated from immature spermatozoa. (shengsci.com)
  • In studies initially focused on roles of nonmuscle myosin IIA (NMIIA) in the developing mouse epidermis, we have discovered that a previously described cytokeratin 5 (K5)-Cre gene construct is expressed in early embryo development. (shengsci.com)
  • Despite genetically modifying human embryos being hugely controversial, with fears of designer babies and irreversibly altering the human gene pool, the proposed research could lead to a massive step forward in understanding early embryonic development. (geneblitz.com)
  • Mouse embryo model derived exclusively from embryonic stem cells undergoes neurulation and heart development. (caltech.edu)
  • Modeling human embryo development with embryonic and extra-embryonic stem cells. (caltech.edu)
  • Using MICA, we generated the first GRN inferences in early human development. (bvsalud.org)
  • Gene editing tools will allow fresh insights into the basic genetic mechanisms that control cell allocation in the early embryo. (bioedge.org)
  • However, the mechanisms transducing cell polarity into cell fate in cow and human embryos are unknown. (bvsalud.org)
  • At Van Andel Institute, I look forward to working alongside many world-class researchers looking to solve these mechanisms and find new ways to improve human health. (cam.ac.uk)
  • The role of polarization and early heterogeneities in the mammalian first cell fate decision. (caltech.edu)
  • Here, we have examined the evolutionary conservation of Hippo signalling, which is thought to function downstream of aPKC activity, in four different mammalian species: mouse, rat, cow and human. (bvsalud.org)
  • Pluripotent' stem cells can become any other type of cell, and they can be derived from embryos or created from adult cells such as skin cells. (nihr.ac.uk)
  • A model of the post-implantation human embryo derived from pluripotent stem cells. (caltech.edu)
  • Reconstructing aspects of human embryogenesis with pluripotent stem cells. (caltech.edu)
  • NANOGP1, a tandem duplicate of NANOG, exhibits partial functional conservation in human na ve pluripotent stem cells. (qcfail.com)
  • By studying human embryos from the earliest stages, the team aims to understand how these cells become and remain pluripotent, and how they lose their pluripotency when they specialise. (crick.ac.uk)
  • We believe that this research could improve our understanding of the very earliest stages of human life. (redice.tv)
  • We believe that this research could really lead to improvements in infertility treatment and ultimately provide us with a deeper understanding of the earliest stages of human life. (blogspot.com)
  • Cleavage asynchrony in the Tubifex embryo: involvement of cytoplasmic and nucleus-associated factors. (shengsci.com)
  • These embryos will be donated by patients who have given their informed consent to the donation of embryos which are surplus to their IVF treatment. (crick.ac.uk)
  • the majority were donated by couples who had completed their family, and wanted their surplus embryos to be used for research. (nihr.ac.uk)
  • In the early human embryo, most cells will go on to form the placenta or yolk sac while a small number of cells will eventually form the foetus. (crick.ac.uk)
  • However in early pregnancy, the placenta tends to rely more heavily on nonoxidative metabolism, potentially due to high sensitivity to reactive oxygen species 5. (cam.ac.uk)
  • The team at Francis Crick are already in talks with fertility clinics across the country to use their spare embryos. (redice.tv)
  • Human germline engineering is the process by which the genome of an individual is edited in such a way that the change is heritable. (wikipedia.org)
  • Building on previous events held in Washington, DC ( 2015 ) and Hong Kong ( 2018 ), the London meeting continued the global dialogue on somatic and germline human genome editing. (royalsociety.org)
  • If human embryo editing for reproductive purposes or germline editing were space flight, the new data are the equivalent of having the rocket explode at the launch pad before take-off," says Fyodor Urnov, who studies genome editing at the University of California, Berkeley, but was not involved in any of the latest research. (frogheart.ca)
  • Although gene editing to treat some genetic disease in fully developed human beings appears to have huge promise (such as in the case of Layla Richards who was saved from terminal leukaemia in London last year), gene editing in embryos (germline gene editing) has come in for huge criticism internationally (see also here ) and has so far only been attempted (unsuccessfully) in China. (blogspot.com)
  • There are strong advocates for the research in Britain (see here and here ) and an international collaboration (the Hinxton group) has made an earlier call for bans on germline gene editing to be lifted (see critique here ). (blogspot.com)
  • In preparation for the Summit, a three-part series of online events was held in 2022 'Looking Ahead to the Third Human Genome Editing Summit', which focused on scientific developments, equity and access, and governance of human genome editing. (royalsociety.org)
  • Following implantation, the human embryo undergoes major morphogenetic transformations that establish the future body plan. (bvsalud.org)
  • Watch all three days of the Third International Summit on Human Genome Editing . (royalsociety.org)
  • Speaking in front of a packed hall of about 700 people Wednesday at the Second International Summit on Human Genome Editing, He Jiankui publicly defended his work, saying he felt "proud" of his achievement. (cnn.com)
  • However, the timing and localisation of molecular markers differ across species, with rat embryos more closely recapitulating human and cow developmental dynamics, compared with the mouse. (bvsalud.org)
  • He is also very active in both public engagement and policy work, notably around stem cells, genetics, human embryo and animal research, and in ways science is regulated and disseminated. (royalsociety.org)
  • The knowledge acquired from the research will be important for understanding how a healthy human embryo develops. (crick.ac.uk)
  • Currently it is not illegal to edit human embryos for research purposes although it has never been done before because they technology has not been available. (redice.tv)
  • As with all embryos used in research, it is illegal to transfer them to a woman for treatment. (redice.tv)
  • Ledford's article offers some description and analysis of each of the three papers.Note: All of the research was done with nonviable embryos. (frogheart.ca)
  • Other research methods, including studies in mice, suggested a later and more focused role for OCT4, so our results highlight the need for human embryo research. (nihr.ac.uk)
  • this research will significantly help treatment for infertile couples, by helping us to identify the factors that are essential for ensuring that human embryos can develop into healthy babies. (nihr.ac.uk)
  • If approved the research could begin as early as March this year. (blogspot.com)
  • The research is highly controversial, and not just because it results in the destruction of the embryos being studied (each will be destroyed and examined at seven days). (blogspot.com)
  • Usually research like this needs to be conducted exhaustively using animals before it is attempted in humans. (blogspot.com)
  • Niakan is arguing that her research will provide a deeper understanding of the earliest moments of human life and could reduce miscarriages: 'The reason why it is so important is because miscarriages and infertility are extremely common, but they're not very well understood. (blogspot.com)
  • The smaller AB-cell of the 2-cell embryo of Tubifex divides 40 min later than the larger CD-cell. (shengsci.com)
  • Fluorescent images showing gene expression in early human embryos, where blue is each cell of the embryo, green is the OCT4 gene, red is the NANOG gene and yellow is overlapping expression showing cells that eventually give rise to the embryo proper or fetus. (crick.ac.uk)
  • The embryo on the right has been edited to prevent the OCT4 gene from functioning. (crick.ac.uk)
  • Human embryonic stem cells are taken from a part of the developing embryo that has high levels of OCT4. (nihr.ac.uk)
  • A single cell characterisation of human embryogenesis identifies pluripotency transitions and putative anterior hypoblast centre. (caltech.edu)
  • The non-viable embryos that were used contained an extra set of chromosomes, which may have been problematic. (wikipedia.org)
  • In 2016, another similar study was performed in China which also used non-viable embryos with extra sets of chromosomes. (wikipedia.org)
  • Stem cell-derived synthetic embryos self-assemble by exploiting cadherin codes and cortical tension. (caltech.edu)
  • Critics warn that allowing embryos to be edited opens the door to designer babies and genetically modified humans. (redice.tv)
  • Every advance in genetics over the past 116 years has shown that it is less easy to enhance human beings than expected, but easier to cure diseases. (mattridley.co.uk)
  • What are the fetal and placental implications of exposure to metformin in early pregnancy versus later pregnancy? (cam.ac.uk)
  • It will also provide important new information on the potential impacts of using metformin in early pregnancy for other reasons, where the risk versus benefit ratio of doing so may be less clear-cut. (cam.ac.uk)
  • The most promising-looking embryos are selected for transfer into the womb while others are frozen in storage. (crick.ac.uk)
  • They hope to use this knowledge to establish pluripotent stem cell lines that can be taken out of the embryo and multiplied in the laboratory for many years. (crick.ac.uk)
  • The team spent over a year optimising their techniques using mouse embryos and human embryonic stem cells before starting work on human embryos. (nihr.ac.uk)
  • Generation of Stem Cell-Based Mouse Embryo-Like Structures. (caltech.edu)
  • Stem-cell-based human and mouse embryo models. (caltech.edu)
  • Single-cell transcriptomics analysis of human embryos previously enabled us to identify transcription factors, including the zinc-finger protein KLF17, that are enriched in the human epiblast and naïve human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). (bvsalud.org)
  • All cells in a human embryo have the same DNA code, but they divide into specialised cells depending on gene expression. (redice.tv)
  • Doctors create multiple embryos to increase the chances of producing a viable embryo, as they do not all develop correctly. (crick.ac.uk)
  • But it was important to demonstrate the work in human embryos as well, says Urnov, because different cell types might respond to genome editing differently. (frogheart.ca)
  • And Harvard researchers recently edited 62 spots in pig DNA, part of work to use the animals to grow organs for human transplant. (kkartlab.in)
  • In November 2018, researcher He Jiankui claimed that he had created the first human genetically edited babies, known by their pseudonyms, Lulu and Nana. (wikipedia.org)
  • The Chinese scientist who sparked an international outcry after alleging to have helped create the world's first genetically edited babies has raised the possibility of a third child being born, after announcing that a separate woman was pregnant at an early stage with a modified embryo. (cnn.com)
  • However the mechanism underlying these effects remains uncertain and there is very little understanding of how metformin exposure during early pregnancy might impact on placental function and metabolism. (cam.ac.uk)
  • We are a biomedical discovery institute researching the biology underlying human health. (crick.ac.uk)
  • gene under the vaccinia early/late p7.5 promoter (provided by B. Moss, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bethesda, MD, U.S.A.) and is inserted into the viral thymidine kinase (TK) gene by homologous recombination as previously described (23). (tech-strategy.org)