Chickens ... the Pharmaceutical Factories of the Future?
Pharmaceutical proteins are currently synthesized by specialised bacteria. However, the proteins produced by bacteria are not exact replicas of human proteins. Scientists recently embarked on a mission to find an alternate, more accurate means of cultivating pharmaceutical proteins.
With the demand for protein based medication increasing, scientists are exploring the possibility of using the domestic chicken egg as a vessel for protein production. Chickens are a cost effective and efficient alternative to traditional methods. The resultant proteins closely resemble human proteins in their structure and arrangement of surface sugars. This increases the half life of the product and the probability of the body accepting the protein. There is also evidence to suggest that the absence of a certain sugar residue improves the cancer-destroying potential of the protein, monocal.
Human genes, selected for a specific protein, are modified in order to confine protein synthesis to the egg white. A gene-virus complex is injected, through an opening in the shell, into a male chicken embryo. The mature rooster is mated with an ordinary hen. The fertilized eggs of the daughter hens have a high protein content which can be extracted and refined for medicinal use. The primary challenge encountered by scientists was ensuring that this ability was inherited by successive generations. At present, three proteins, involved in the treatment of serious conditions such as multiple sclerosis and hairy cell leukemia, have been successfully manufactured via this method.
Posted by: Shona Richardson, 41433478
References
Primary:
Bourzac, K 2007, 'Drugs sunny-side up', viewed 30 May 2007, http://www.technologyreview.com/Biotech/18078/
Lewcock, A 2007, 'Protein production in chicken eggs cracked', viewed 25 May 2007,
http://www.in-pharmatechnologist.com/news/ng.asp?n=73404-viragen-oxford-biomedica-roslin-institute-protein-transgenic
Secondary:
Lewcock, A 2007, 'Third protein successfully expressed in transgenic chicken eggs', viewed 25 May 2007, http://www.drugresearcher.com/news/ng.asp?n=73745-oxford-biomedica-viragen-roslin-institute-protein-transgenic
Taylor, P 2005, 'Researchers make antibodies in egg whites', viewed 25 May 2007,
http://www.drugresearcher.com/news/ng.asp?n=60454-researchers-make-antibodies
Business Wire 2005, 'First production of human monoclonal antibodies in chicken eggs published in Nature Biotechnology; chicken-produced antibodies demonstrate enhanced cell killing compared to conventionally produced anti-cancer antibodies', viewed 25 May 2007,
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2005_August_29/ai_n14934651
