“I’ll have my drugs scrambled with that”
The future cost of producing Cancer drugs may drop in price with the laying of eggs from genetically modified chickens. The majority of cancer treatments are costly and painful for the patient and are also difficult to produce, which has now resulted in developments of genetically engineered pharm animals that produce human therapeutic proteins at higher output levels and reduced costs. Imagine having your treatment served sunny side up rather than series of blasting radiation.
A team of British scientist lead by Helen Sang from the Roslin institute have after 15 years developed modified hens that produce eggs containing two key proteins used in cancer drugs. These two proteins are miR24 a monoclonal antibody and human interferon b-1a an immune system protein are now contained in the whites of the eggs.
The altered hens were produced by injecting a virus into very young chicken embryos. The DNA of the virus had also been changed so that it contained the 2 desired proteins. As viruses insert their genetic material into the DNA of the embryos it was hoped that the developing chick would also have the ability to make the 2 proteins.
The hatched male chicks were then screened and found to have incorporated the new DNA into their semen. These altered rosters were then bred with normal Isa Brown layer hens and the resulting chicks were also screened positive for carrying the 2 foreign genes.
The researchers have now bred several hundred chickens down 5 generations that have continued to be able to produce the two vital proteins in their egg whites. It will still be a while before the drug is developed from the proteins. However this is a cheaper easier way to produce large quantities of the protein. It is hoped the production will be approved and life saving cancer drugs will be sold affordably around the globe.
A team of British scientist lead by Helen Sang from the Roslin institute have after 15 years developed modified hens that produce eggs containing two key proteins used in cancer drugs. These two proteins are miR24 a monoclonal antibody and human interferon b-1a an immune system protein are now contained in the whites of the eggs.
The altered hens were produced by injecting a virus into very young chicken embryos. The DNA of the virus had also been changed so that it contained the 2 desired proteins. As viruses insert their genetic material into the DNA of the embryos it was hoped that the developing chick would also have the ability to make the 2 proteins.
The hatched male chicks were then screened and found to have incorporated the new DNA into their semen. These altered rosters were then bred with normal Isa Brown layer hens and the resulting chicks were also screened positive for carrying the 2 foreign genes.
The researchers have now bred several hundred chickens down 5 generations that have continued to be able to produce the two vital proteins in their egg whites. It will still be a while before the drug is developed from the proteins. However this is a cheaper easier way to produce large quantities of the protein. It is hoped the production will be approved and life saving cancer drugs will be sold affordably around the globe.
Primary reference:
- www.reuters.com/article
o Article reported on January 15 2007
- www.sciencedirect.com/article
Secondary reference:
- www.wikipedia.com
o proteins used for the development of cancer drugs
o Cancer information
o production of transgenic organism
- http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/T/TransgenicAnimals.html www.biotechweblog.com/50226711/pharmaceuticals_from_genetically_engineered_chicken_eggs
- www.nationalacademies.org
- www.reuters.com/article
o Article reported on January 15 2007
- www.sciencedirect.com/article
Secondary reference:
- www.wikipedia.com
o proteins used for the development of cancer drugs
o Cancer information
o production of transgenic organism
- http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/T/TransgenicAnimals.html www.biotechweblog.com/50226711/pharmaceuticals_from_genetically_engineered_chicken_eggs
- www.nationalacademies.org
1 comment:
forgot to add the writer...
Nikita Osborne
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