基因編輯專家：編輯人類胚胎併產生新生個體，是對倫理的嚴重褻瀆

翻譯 | 王貝南

11月27日，根據美聯社報道，中國科學家賀建奎利用基因編輯技術編輯了人類胚胎的基因CCR5基因，以使其抵抗HIV病毒，並可能已有一對雙胞胎誕生。

哈佛教授David R.Liu是基因編輯領域的專家，正在香港參加第二屆基因編輯國際峰會。

以下為David R. Liu回復《知識分子》的關於這一事件的聲明全文：

最近報道的將CRISPR技術用於編輯人類胚胎的CCR5基因，甚至還產生的新生個體的臨床試驗，是對倫理的嚴重褻瀆，我希望能以此為整個領域敲響警鐘。最重要的也是令人恐懼的一點是，基因編輯的嬰兒誕生的整個過程沒有獨立的科學和倫理專家、政府和相關監管機構的參與。此外，到底是否有必要以此方式來解決未解決的醫學問題，還有待討論。和目前已有的保護新生兒不受HIV病毒的感染的其他方法相比，在未受感染的人類胚胎上編輯CCR基因到底有無益處還是個問題，但已經存在很大的風險了，其中就包括增加因感染西尼羅河病毒（West Nile Virus）所致腦病的風險。

和許多生物醫學研究領域的同仁一樣，我能預想到，在不遠的將來，基因編輯技術能夠為目前無法可治的遺傳病提供治療甚至治癒的方法。體細胞基因編輯能較好的應用並且得到患者的同意，是因為它不會影響後代；但胚胎基因編輯就完全不同了，它改變了細胞（包括精子和卵細胞）的整個基因組，會對後代產生影響，因此產生了嚴重的科學和倫理問題。或許在將來，我們能夠通過風險-收益評估和對倫理學問題的仔細分析，將胚胎基因編輯合理化，但最近報道的這一臨床試驗完全沒有達到這一標準。正是因為基因編輯技術能夠為廣大患者帶來的革命性的影響，我們才需要在每一步上都走得有條不紊、小心謹慎，否則不僅會對患者不利，更是會推遲甚至整個否決掉這一技術在疾病治療上可以發揮的巨大潛力。

聲明原文：

The recently reported use of CRISPR nuclease to edit CCR5 in human embryos, resulting in live births, represents a serious breach of ethics that I hope will serve as a wake-up call for the community. Foremost, that edited human babies were generated without the full engagement of independent scientific and ethics experts, relevant regulatory institutions, and governing bodies is appalling. In addition, the unmet medical need motivating the work is unclear at best. Compared to other known approaches to protect newborns from HIV infection, genome editing CCR5 in an uninfected human embryo offers questionable benefits and substantial risks, including increased risk of encephalopathy from West Nile virus.

Like many in the biomedical research community, I anticipate a future in which the application of genome editing technologies provide therapies or even cures for grievous genetic diseases for which no treatment is known. In somatic cells, which do not become part of future generations, these technologies can be used in a focused manner and with the consent of the patient. Embryo editing, in which changes are made to the genome of cells that may include the sperm and egg cells that become future generations, is a very different situation that raises additional critical scientific and ethical issues. There may be a future in which embryo editing is justified following a careful analysis of potential benefits, risks, and ethical issues, but the recently reported work does not meet these standards. Because of the potential of genome editing to provide a transformative benefit to patients, it is essential that we progress in a thoughtful and coordinated manner. Failure to do so risks both harming patients, and delaying or denying potential therapies to many that urgently need them.

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