Human insulin is an essential hormone that helps regulate blood sugar levels in the body. People with diabetes, particularly type 1 diabetes, cannot produce enough insulin on their own, which leads to dangerously high blood sugar levels. For many years, insulin for medical use was extracted from the pancreases of pigs or cows. However, this animal-derived insulin wasn’t a perfect match for humans, often causing allergic reactions and being less effective. Thanks to advancements in genetic engineering, we now have a way to produce human insulin that is identical to what the human body naturally makes. This was a groundbreaking achievement, offering millions of diabetics around the world a safer and more effective treatment.
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What is Genetic Engineering?
Genetic engineering involves modifying or manipulating the DNA of an organism to produce desired characteristics. In the case of insulin production, scientists use genetic engineering to insert the gene responsible for insulin production into bacteria. These bacteria then become tiny insulin factories, producing large amounts of insulin that can be harvested and purified for medical use.
How Insulin is Produced Through Genetic Engineering
The process of producing human insulin using genetic engineering can be broken down into several key steps:
Identifying and Isolating the Human Insulin Gene
First, scientists identify the gene in human DNA that is responsible for insulin production. This gene codes for a protein called proinsulin, which is the precursor to insulin.
Inserting the Gene into a Bacterial Host
Once the human insulin gene is isolated, it is inserted into the DNA of a bacterium (often E. coli). This is done using a small, circular piece of bacterial DNA known as a plasmid. The plasmid acts as a vehicle, carrying the human insulin gene into the bacterium. To insert the human gene, scientists use special enzymes that act like molecular scissors, cutting and pasting DNA segments together.
Producing Insulin in Bacteria
Once the bacteria have taken up the plasmid with the human insulin gene, they are placed in large fermentation tanks. Inside these tanks, the bacteria grow and multiply, producing insulin as they divide. The insulin produced by these bacteria is chemically identical to human insulin.
Purification and Packaging
The final step involves extracting the insulin from the bacteria and purifying it to remove any bacterial by-products or impurities. The purified insulin is then processed into forms that can be used for medical treatment, such as vials, pens, or pump cartridges for patients to use.
The Advantages of Genetically Engineered Insulin
The production of human insulin through genetic engineering has several key benefits over the older method of using animal-derived insulin:
Better Compatibility: Genetically engineered insulin is identical to the insulin that the human body naturally produces, which means it works better and causes fewer allergic reactions compared to animal insulin.
Reliable Supply: The use of bacteria to produce insulin means that it can be manufactured in large quantities, ensuring a steady supply. This is important given the increasing number of people worldwide who need insulin.
Cost-Effective: Although setting up the initial genetic engineering processes can be expensive, once in place, the production of insulin by bacteria is efficient and cost-effective in the long run. This has made insulin more accessible to people in many parts of the world.
Ethical and Environmental Considerations
While the use of genetic engineering for insulin production has been widely accepted, some concerns still exist. For instance, there are debates about the ownership of genetically engineered products and whether pharmaceutical companies should have patents on life-saving medications like insulin. Additionally, there are environmental concerns about the large-scale use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), although the bacteria used for insulin production are contained within laboratories and not released into the environment.
The Future of Insulin Production
Genetic engineering has revolutionized insulin production, but there is still ongoing research into making insulin therapy even better. For example, researchers are exploring ways to produce insulin that works faster or lasts longer in the body, which could reduce the number of injections that diabetics need to take each day. There is also hope that advances in stem cell therapy or gene editing (such as CRISPR) might one day offer a permanent cure for diabetes by restoring the body’s ability to produce its own insulin.
Conclusion
The production of human insulin through genetic engineering is a remarkable scientific achievement that has transformed the treatment of diabetes. By harnessing the power of bacteria, we can now produce insulin that is safer, more effective, and more accessible than ever before. While there are still challenges to overcome, genetic engineering has provided a lifeline to millions of diabetics and continues to hold promise for the future of medicine.
Frequently Asked Questions(FAQ)
What is Genetic Engineering?
Genetic engineering involves modifying or manipulating the DNA of an organism to produce desired characteristics. In the case of insulin production, scientists use genetic engineering to insert the gene responsible for insulin production into bacteria.
What is GMO’s?
A genetically modified organism (GMO) is an organism whose DNA has been altered using genetic engineering techniques to introduce new traits or enhance existing ones.
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