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taylorvich [soylentnews.org] writes:

https://newatlas.com/science/cows-low-cost-insulin-production/ [newatlas.com]

A genetically modified cow has produced milk containing human insulin, according to a new study. The proof-of-concept achievement could be scaled up to, eventually, produce enough insulin to ensure availability and reduced cost for all diabetics requiring the life-maintaining drug.

Unable to rely on their own supply due to damaged pancreatic cells, type 1 diabetics need injectable insulin to live. As do some type 2 diabetics. The World Health Organization estimates that of those who require insulin, between 150 and 200 million people worldwide, only about half are being treated with it. Access to insulin remains inadequate in many low- and middle-income countries – and some high-income countries – and its cost and unavailability have been well-documented.

In a newly published study led by the Department of Animal Sciences in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the Universidade de São Paulo, researchers say they may have developed a way of eliminating insulin scarcity and reducing its cost using cows. Yep, cows.

“Mother Nature designed the mammary gland as a factory to make protein really, really efficiently,” said Matt Wheeler, corresponding author of the study. “We can take advantage of that system to produce a protein that can help hundreds of millions of people worldwide.”
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In the current study, the researchers inserted a segment of human DNA coding for proinsulin into the cells of ten cow embryos implanted into the uteruses of regular Brazilian cows. The implantation resulted in the birth of one transgenic calf. The term ‘transgenic’ describes an organism that contains artificially introduced DNA from an unrelated organism. Here, the human DNA used was targeted for expression in milk-producing, that is, mammary tissue only. Of course, a cow’s mammary gland is more commonly called an udder.
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When the calf matured, she was given hormones to stimulate her first lactation. While the volume of milk was less than would ordinarily be produced, the researchers found that it contained human proinsulin and – surprisingly – insulin.

“Our goal was to make proinsulin, purify it out to insulin, and go from there,” said Wheeler. “But the cow basically processed it herself. She makes [a ratio of] about three-to-one biologically active insulin to proinsulin. The mammary gland is a magical thing.”

The insulin and proinsulin were expressed at a few grams per liter of milk. Because lactation was induced by hormones and the milk volume was smaller than expected, the researchers are unable to say exactly how much insulin a cow would make during a typical lactation. But they’re willing to hazard a (conservative) guess; if proven correct, the numbers are astounding.
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Wheeler said that if a cow produced one gram of insulin per liter of milk and a typical Holstein cow – which produces more milk than any other breed of dairy cow – made 40 to 50 liters a day, that adds up to a lot of insulin. This is especially true considering that one international unit (IU) of insulin is the biological equivalent of 0.0347 mg of pure crystalline insulin.

“That means each gram is equivalent to 28,818 units of insulin,” Wheeler said. “And that’s just one liter; Holsteins can produce 50 liters a day. You can do the math.”

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