Scientific and ethical considerations in using preimplantation genetic testing for polygenic disease

Preimplantation genetic testing: A remarkable history of pioneering, technical challenges, innovations, and ethical considerations

“…Perhaps combining PRS with other embryo quality measures and surveillance of DNA methylation pattern, made more accessible by nanopore sequencing (a type of TGS) (Akbari et al, 2022; Liu et al, 2021), could reduce this concern. Concerns over social inequalities emerging from selection for traits such as intelligence or biometric features have been raised (Komorowski & Feinberg, 2022). Disparities in access to costly PRS screening procedures is also a concern (Komorowski & Feinberg, 2022).…”

“…Concerns over social inequalities emerging from selection for traits such as intelligence or biometric features have been raised (Komorowski & Feinberg, 2022). Disparities in access to costly PRS screening procedures is also a concern (Komorowski & Feinberg, 2022). Concerns with losing genetic diversity, or inadvertently selecting for undesirable genotypes when applying a screening score have also been expressed (Treff et al, 2022).…”

“…The emergence of PRS for embryo selection is an interesting example wherein ethical considerations of a PGT method may be complicated by broader considerations. For example, PRS accuracy could be sensitive to racial, ethnic, or geographical differences in genotype‐phenotype correlations, and there are concerns about whether the selection of an embryo based on a PRS for one gene could enhance susceptibility for another (Editorial, 2022; Komorowski & Feinberg, 2022; Treff et al, 2022). However, the ongoing expansion of human genome data and disease associations could greatly reduce these concerns.…”

“…However, the ongoing expansion of human genome data and disease associations could greatly reduce these concerns. Environmental factors may also impact the predictive value of the PRS (Editorial, 2022; Komorowski & Feinberg, 2022; Polyakov et al, 2022). Perhaps combining PRS with other embryo quality measures and surveillance of DNA methylation pattern, made more accessible by nanopore sequencing (a type of TGS) (Akbari et al, 2022; Liu et al, 2021), could reduce this concern.…”