The first transgenic cow whose milk contains human insulin may open the doors, in the future, to a production method different from the current ones (based on genetically modified yeasts and bacteria). Thus limiting costs and, above all, the deficiency of this protein hormone – fundamental for diabetics – which regulates glucose metabolism.
“At present, in fact, we cannot consider this production method an alternative to those already available”, explains Raffaella Buzzetti, president-elect of the Italian Society of Diabetology, to Today.it. At the same time, he continues, “the opportunity to produce human insulin also from transgenic cows with cow's milk proves to be important, being able to exponentially increase the production of this life-saving drug”.
Human insulin in cow's milk
The study, which involved researchers from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (United States) and the University of Sao Paulo (Brazil), is published in Biotechnology Journal. The team inserted, into ten bovine embryos, a tiny segment of human DNA with the instructions to produce proinsulin – the precursor of insulin – in the mammary glands.
After implantation in the uterus, only one embryo took root. Hence the birth of the transgenic calf which, upon reaching maturity, was subjected (unsuccessfully) to artificial insemination to stimulate pregnancy and spontaneous lactation. At this point the researchers induced milk production with hormonal stimulation, obtaining a smaller quantity of liquid than they would have had after the birth of the calf, but enough to be able to detect the presence – surprisingly – of human insulin.
Diabetology looks to the future
According to the International Diabetes Federation – an international organization that brings together scientific societies and voluntary associations – today 537 million people in the world live with diabetes (and the number is expected to reach 783 million in 2045). “The growing demand for insulin leads to a progressive increase in prices, with the result that many patients – especially abroad – have difficulty obtaining this life-saving drug”, underlines Buzzetti again.
This is why, returning to the study, “methods like the one presented, capable of simplifying and increasing the production of insulin, may be fundamental to prevent patients with diabetes from remaining without insulin in the future”. Without prejudice, the president-elect of the Italian Society of Diabetology is keen to point out, that “today the method is still complex, production costs are high and we do not know whether or not cow's milk contains other substances capable of inactivating the insulin produced “.
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