There is a brighter future ahead when it comes to cancer treatment and it could be as simple as eating an egg. Researchers at the Roslin Institute in the United Kingdom, you might remember it as the birthplace of Dolly the sheep, have genetically engineered chickens to lay eggs that contain proteins that fight cancer in the egg whites. A number of companies have spent millions of dollars developing the proteins that target and eliminate tumour cells. Bacteria and even goats and rabbits have been used in the attempt to mass produce these therapeutic proteins with little success.
Chickens could be the answer, with their high reproductive rates and egg laying capabilities. The reliability of the chickens producing the anti-cancer proteins has been a difficult obstacle. This problem was overcome by injecting viruses into the embryo through tiny holes in the eggshell. The virus contained genetic sequences which coded for either the protein miR24 which is a cancer-fighting antibody or an antiviral protein human interferon beta-1a. These are used to fight malignant melanoma and multiple sclerosis.
Chicks produced in this way pass on these genes to the next generation after reaching adulthood. The proteins were found in the eggs that were laid by the females. Anticancer antibodies if produced throughout the body can be harmful to the chicken, but the gene expression has been limited to the oviduct at the site of egg white production.
Don’t start cracking eggs just yet. Although the therapeutic protein can be extracted in commercially viable amounts, testing on human effectiveness is still the next step, and eating an anticancer egg could be many years away.
Chickens could be the answer, with their high reproductive rates and egg laying capabilities. The reliability of the chickens producing the anti-cancer proteins has been a difficult obstacle. This problem was overcome by injecting viruses into the embryo through tiny holes in the eggshell. The virus contained genetic sequences which coded for either the protein miR24 which is a cancer-fighting antibody or an antiviral protein human interferon beta-1a. These are used to fight malignant melanoma and multiple sclerosis.
Chicks produced in this way pass on these genes to the next generation after reaching adulthood. The proteins were found in the eggs that were laid by the females. Anticancer antibodies if produced throughout the body can be harmful to the chicken, but the gene expression has been limited to the oviduct at the site of egg white production.
Don’t start cracking eggs just yet. Although the therapeutic protein can be extracted in commercially viable amounts, testing on human effectiveness is still the next step, and eating an anticancer egg could be many years away.
Primary References:
Lillico, S.G., Sherman. A., McGrew, M.J., Robertson, C.D., et al. (2007). Oviduct-specific expression of two therapeutic proteins in transgenic hens. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 104, 1771-1776.
Wayman, E (2007). Barnyard Pharmaceuticals. Science NOW Daily News 6 January. http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2007/116/4
Secondary References:
Lewcock, A (2007). Protein production in chicken eggs cracked. http://www.in-pharmatechnologist.com/news/ng.asp?id=73404-viragen-oxford-biomedica-roslin-institute-protein-transgenic
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