Biotechnology has applied its techniques and methods in various fields of science and these techniques have produced successful results to the researchers and analyzers. Pharmaceutical industry has also made use of the various techniques of biotechnology and has developed many useful drugs, hormones and other substances.
Human Growth Hormones:-
Human growth hormones were first extracted from the pituitary glands of cadavers. There was not any technology to develop them in laboratory. But when a biotechnology technique Recombinant DNA technology was introduced, it made possible to make these hormones in the laboratory also. It was very difficult to extract the growth hormone from pituitary glands and their extraction from the dead body created the shortage of the hormone.
By using the recombinant DNA technology, scientists succeeded in developing growth hormone in bacteria. For this purpose genetically modified bacteria was used. What scientists did by using this technology that they inserted a DNA molecule into the plasmid which had the coding sequences of human growth hormone. This plasmid was then injected into the bacteria in which mechanism of production of growth hormone started. The gene of interest was developed by using the method of reverse transcription. This gene was extracted from the pituitary glands. It had the mRNA sequences which were complementary to the DNA sequences.
Human growth hormone has great significance in the pharmaceuticals industry. It can be used for the growth of the children which are very weak. This hormone provides strength to their bones and makes them to grow healthily. It is also helpful in the growth of the muscles. It can also be subjected to the people especially children who have deficiency of nutrients which are necessary for the growth.
Human Insulin:-
Insulin is a hormone produced in the human body which controls the sugar level in the body. People who have diabetes, they have high or low level of insulin in their body. During the disease of diabetes, sugar the insulin is unable to control the sugar level due to which it flows from the body with the urine. Recombinant DNA technology has made it possible to produce human insulin in the bacteria E.coli in the laboratory. When this technique was not invented, scientists used to extract insulin from the pancreas of the cattle like cows and pigs. Scientists artificially produced two proteins in the laboratory. Thee proteins are present in the form of chain and compose the structure of insulin. After these proteins' development in the laboratory, they were then inserted into a plasmid and injected into the bacteria E.coli. Bacteria efficiently started producing the human insulin. Some bacteria produced one chain for example chain A of the proteins and some produced chain B. then these chains were taken out of the bacteria and were combined together to produce the molecules of insulin.
The development of genetically made human insulin put a great impact. Doctors started using this product for the diabetic patients and people with this disease started showing positive results and their disease improved a lot. In pharmaceuticals it has a great importance.
Human Blood Clotting Factors:-
Recombinant DNA technology also made possible the production of human blood clotting factors. Before this technique, the blood clotting factors were extracted from the donated blood but that blood had a risk of HIV AIDS in it. Factor IX is the first human blood clotting factor which recombinant DNA technology produced. The first development of Factor IX became possible, when the Chinese hamster ovary cells were taken. These cells when observed in the laboratory and were genetically modified, then they produced Factor IX in large quantities. Scientists used this factor for the treatment of patients who had disease of hemophilia. It showed significant result in the patients.
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