Therapeutic cloning

We can divide cloning into therapeutic cloning and reproductive cloning. Therapeutic cloning is synonymous with stem cell research. Under proper control and environment, embryonic stem cells can potentially be directed to grow and develop into different tissues that are invaluable for replacing... 

Therapeutic Cloning. Therapeutic cloning has tremendous potential for numerous clinical applications. 

Currently, baclofen is the only clinically used GAB Ab receptor agonist. It is used as a muscle relaxant for treatment of spasticity in spinal injury and multiple sclerosis. The cloning of GABAb receptors has renewed the interest in the search for more selective diugs and novel therapeutic indications. 

Monoclonal antibodies (mAh) are molecules that recognize and bind a specific foreign substance called an antigen. They are produced from a single clone of B lymphocytes. Conventionally, mouse mAh have been generated for experimental and diagnostic use. Techniques have been developed to humanize mouse mAh to facilitate their therapeutic use in humans. It is also now possible to make mAh which are fully human. 

FAAH was originally purified and cloned from rat liver microsomes and is able to catalyse the hydrolysis of anandamide and 2-AG, in addition to other long-chain fatty acid amides [25]. Studies into the structure and role of this enzyme have generated interest in the potential therapeutic applications of FAAH inhibitors [26-28]. FAAH knock-out mouse brains contained 15-fold higher levels of anandamide than their wild-type counterparts and these animals have also been shown to be more responsive to exogenously administered anandamide [29]. These animals also showed a reduced response to painful stimuli, supporting the hypothesis that FAAH inhibition may provide novel analgesics. Levels of 2-AG were not elevated in the FAAH knock-out animals, apparently due to the existence of alternative metabolic fates for this compound [30]. 

Stiles GL. Adenosine receptor subtypes new insights from cloning and functional studies. In Jacobson KA, Jarvis MF, eds. Purinergic Approaches in Experimental Therapeutics. New York Wiley-Liss, 1997 29-37. 

Marijuana and hashish are derivatives of the cannabis sativa plant. Although cannabinoids have been used for centuries for recreational and therapeutic purposes, dramatic advances in cannabinoid neurobiology have occurred since 1990 [34-37]. This is attributable to the cloning of cannabinoid receptors and the discovery of endogenous cannabinoids, termed endocannabinoids. 

Fig. 1. Chemical structures of ligands used to characterize, clone, and purify the GABAb receptor. The recently identified positive allosteric modulators CGP7930 and CGP 13501 are expected to broaden the spectrum of therapeutic applications for GABAb drugs.

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