Transgenic Cows Boost Human Insulin Production by 10X

taylorvich writes:

https://newatlas.com/science/cows-low-cost-insulin-production/

A genetically modified cow has produced milk containing human insulin, according to a new study. The proof-of-concept achievement could be scaled up to, eventually, produce enough insulin to ensure availability and reduced cost for all diabetics requiring the life-maintaining drug.

Unable to rely on their own supply due to damaged pancreatic cells, type 1 diabetics need injectable insulin to live. As do some type 2 diabetics. The World Health Organization estimates that of those who require insulin, between 150 and 200 million people worldwide, only about half are being treated with it. Access to insulin remains inadequate in many low- and middle-income countries - and some high-income countries - and its cost and unavailability have been well-documented.

In a newly published study led by the Department of Animal Sciences in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the Universidade de Sao Paulo, researchers say they may have developed a way of eliminating insulin scarcity and reducing its cost using cows. Yep, cows.

"Mother Nature designed the mammary gland as a factory to make protein really, really efficiently," said Matt Wheeler, corresponding author of the study. "We can take advantage of that system to produce a protein that can help hundreds of millions of people worldwide."

[...] In the current study, the researchers inserted a segment of human DNA coding for proinsulin into the cells of ten cow embryos implanted into the uteruses of regular Brazilian cows. The implantation resulted in the birth of one transgenic calf. The term 'transgenic' describes an organism that contains artificially introduced DNA from an unrelated organism. Here, the human DNA used was targeted for expression in milk-producing, that is, mammary tissue only. Of course, a cow's mammary gland is more commonly called an udder.
...
When the calf matured, she was given hormones to stimulate her first lactation. While the volume of milk was less than would ordinarily be produced, the researchers found that it contained human proinsulin and - surprisingly - insulin.

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