February 1, 2007

UK researchers to tap chickens as producers of pharmaceutical products

Researchers at the Roslin Institute in the UK, the same one that brought the world Dolly the cloned sheep, has managed to produce human alpha interferon 2-a in the eggs laid by their genetically modified chickens.

Interferons are proteins produced by the immune system in response to foreign challenges like bacteria and viruses.

The discovery, the third protein to be manufactured this way by the institute, could mean a new use for layers as it could mean a way to replace present costly methods of reproducing these proteins.

The project would develop the chicken into a pharmaceutical bioreactor, that can meet the growing need for protein-based human therapeutics, said a representative of Oxford BioMedica.

Alpha interferon is produced by the human immune system and is crucial in disease resistance. Interferon alpha-2a, is the active ingredient in the treatment of chronic hepatitis C, hairy cell leukaemia, and AIDS-related Kaposi's sarcoma.

Recently the group announced the successful breeding of five generations of transgenic hens which had maintained expression of the therapeutic proteins in the egg whites. This meant that transgenic flocks that could be used as natural bio-manufacturing plants to serve the pharmaceutical industry could be a real possibility in the future.

Although it is unlikely that proteins produced by the transgenic hens would be tested directly on patients anytime soon, researchers are confident in the technique as eggs have been similarly used to manufacture vaccines for many years.