(2)
Methods Of Producing Insulin.
GE Insulin-Producing Bacteria.
Nowadays demand for insulin is so great that the pig produced insulin method (below) couldn’t supply enough, research was then started in the GE (genetic engineering) field. The research revealed that it was possible to create insulin by modifying the DNA of a bacterial cell to incorporate the human insulin gene, that one installed properly would mean that the bacterial cell would begin to produce human insulin. The research results were then expanded to create a new method for insulin production.
In this method, the human gene that codes for insulin, is ‘cut’ out of a strand of human DNA, and ‘glued’ into something called a plasmid using various naturally occurring human enzymes. A bacterial cell is the ‘zapped’ (shocked; electrically, or with a cold liquid, usually CaCl2) that causes the cell membrane of the bacterial cell to temporarily become more permeable, during this short period the plasmids are taken up into the cell. In many cases there are problems at this stage in the production, as the plasmids don’t always take up the right plasmid containing the right gene, so many attempts are sometimes needed. Once the plasmid is successfully inside the bacterial cell, it starts to produce human insulin.(7)
There are many advantages of this method that make the cost and hard work worth it in the end. Advantages of this method are that there are potentially no limits to the amount of insulin you can produce, all that is required is space and qualified labour. Also, once a suitable plasmid has been taken up into a bacterial cell, that cell can be reproduced at a very fast rate meaning the initial steps don’t need to be repeated. So production after that point is relatively easy and not as expensive. Also the insulin produced in this method is 100% human, not animal, so there is no chance of introducing a virus into humans. The only real disadvantage of this method is the initial cost and complexity of the work and research, also some people think that ‘tampering’ with nature using GE is wrong.
Pig produced insulin was the first and main source of obtaining insulin to treat diabetics around the word until the recent breakthroughs in DNA research. In this method insulin is taken straight out of a living pig and then injected in to a diabetic. This is possible as pig insulin is only slightly dissimilar to human insulin. When this method still new and in development, the drug had serious side effects on some people, some nearly leading to death. But with new findings in the DNA field were discovered this problem was solved. The main problems with this method are that not nearly enough insulin is produced to meet supply demands, there is high demand for skilled workers that cant always be found, many pigs are needed that drain cash resources with their upkeep costs, and disease transfer in not out of the question. Advantages include the procedure itself being simple and cheap compared to the above method.
Other Methods Of Producing Insulin.
In an experimental procedure called islet transplantation, islets are taken from a donor pancreas and transferred into another person. Once implanted, the beta cells in these islets begin to make and release insulin using their Beta-cells. Researchers hope that islet transplantation will help people with type 1 diabetes live without daily injections of insulin (3). Problems with this procedure include the procedure still being in development, the limited number of donors with a suitable pancreas, 18 pills per day are required to be taken after the operation to stop immune rejection of the implanted islets (6),
(4)
This variation of the above method uses islets taken from pigs instead of humans known as , where the islets from a pig’s pancreas are transplanted in to a human pancreas. Once again, after the islets have been successfully transplanted in to the recipient patient, the Beta-cells start producing insulin independently. Again there are problems with the procedure, once again it is still in development and not very well tested, there is again a chance of transferring an animal virus to humans.(8) Also there are the ethical issues surrounding transplantation of animal organs into humans.
Personally I believe that the future and answer to fighting disease and viruses lies in genetic modification and engineering of DNA. As for using GE in the production of insulin using bacteria, at the moment I see no other better way to treat diabetes so effectively. Every method of producing a complex compound has its advantages and disadvantages; I believe that this particular method’s ‘pros’ outweigh its ‘cons’ in excess to what should be expected, as without the input of insulin from this method, many people would suffer and die.
