Chicken eggs with human protein
A bioreactor in a chicken eggSTRF.ru
The list of systems for biotechnological production of pharmaceutical proteins has been replenished with a new development of Russian scientists.
A new system for the efficient production of human lactoferrin in chicken eggs has been created and tested. The work was carried out by a group of employees of the N. F. Gamalei Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences together with scientists of the P. A. Herzen Moscow Research Institute of Oncology. According to experts, the developed system will allow for the production of lactoferrin and reduce its cost, and can also be used to develop other pharmacologically valuable proteins.
Lactoferrin protein, contained in female breast milk, has a powerful antioxidant effect and protects against diseases of the baby's body, whose immune system has not yet been fully formed. The use of lactoferrin in pharmacology is extremely promising, because, unlike synthetic drugs, the human protein lactorferrin combines high biological activity with safety and low risk of allergic reactions. One gram of lactoferrin on the world market costs up to $ 3,000, and the annual need of mankind for this protein is estimated at $ 6 billion. Previously, lactoferrin was isolated from the milk of transgenic goats, which were obtained by Russian and Belarusian scientists a little more than a year ago as a result of joint scientific developments.
The fundamental difference of the new system is that there is no need to embed a foreign gene into the body to obtain a protein. This significantly speeds up and simplifies the production of the final product.
The developed system is based on the introduction of the lactoferrin gene into fertilized chicken eggs using CELO adenovirus particles. This is a widespread virus that does not cause serious diseases in adult birds. If fertilized eggs are infected with this virus, significant amounts of viral proteins can accumulate in them. The researchers showed that the level of human lactoferrin reached 0.8 milligrams per egg.
The isolated protein did not differ in physical and biological characteristics from natural lactoferrin and had all the necessary chemical modifications. Due to its simplicity and cheapness, the developed system can also be used to produce other pharmaceutical proteins. However, it should be noted that although the virus used does not infect mammals, the quality of purification of the products obtained should be strictly controlled.
The results of the researchers' work have been published in the prestigious international journal "Protein Expression and Purification".
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru17.11.2009