VPB 321: Animal Biotechnology (2+1)

USES OF RECOMBINANT DNA TECHNOLOGY IN HUMAN HEALTH

Recombinant DNAtechnology has resulted in a series of medical products. The first twocommercially prepared products from recombinant DNA technology were insulin andhuman growth hormone. Below are the lists of recombinant DNA products which areused successfully for the benefits of human being:

• Recombinant human insulin
  • Recombinant insulin hasalmost completely replaced insulin obtained from animal sources (e.g. pigs andcattle) for the treatment of insulin-dependent diabetes. A variety of differentrecombinant insulin preparations are in widespread use.
• Recombinant human growthhormone (HGH,somatotropin)
  • Growth hormone isadministered to patients whose pituitary glands generate insufficientquantities to support normal growth and development. Before recombinant HGHbecame available, HGH for therapeutic use was obtained from pituitary glands ofcadavers.
• Recombinant bloodclotting factor VIII
  • Recombinant factor VIII is ablood-clotting protein that is administered to patients with forms of thebleeding disorder hemophilia, who are unable to produce factor VIII inquantities sufficient to support normal blood coagulation. Before thedevelopment of recombinant factor VIII, the protein was obtained by processing largequantities of human blood from multiple donors, which carried a very high riskof transmission of blood borne infectious diseases, for example HIV andhepatitis B.
• Recombinant hepatitis Bvaccine
  • Prevention of hepatitis Binfection is controlled through the use of a recombinant hepatitis B vaccine,which contains a form of the hepatitis B virus surface antigen that is producedin yeast cells.
• Diagnosis of infectionwith HIV
  • Each of the threewidely-used methods for diagnosing HIV infection has been developed usingrecombinant DNA. The antibody test (ELISA or western blot) uses a recombinantHIV protein to test for the presence of antibodies that the body has producedin response to an HIV infection.
• Applications of recombinant DNA technology in Forensic Sciences
  • The applications of molecular biology in forensics center largely on theability of DNA analysis to identify an individual from hairs, blood strains andother items recovered from the crime scene.