What is Insulin?
Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas that regulates blood sugar levels.
Deficiency of insulin leads to diabetes mellitus, requiring external insulin injections.
Why Use Recombinant DNA Technology for Insulin Production?
Earlier, insulin was extracted from animal pancreas (pigs, cows), but it caused allergic reactions.
rDNA technology allows for the production of human insulin (Humulin), which is safer and more effective.
Production of Recombinant Insulin
Gene Isolation – The genes encoding insulin’s two subunits (A and B chains) are isolated.
Cloning into Vectors – The genes are inserted into separate plasmids.
Host Cell Expression – The plasmids are introduced into E. coli or yeast, where they are expressed and produce insulin subunits.
Purification and Assembly – The subunits are purified and chemically linked to form functional insulin.
Advantages of Recombinant Insulin
Identical to human insulin, reducing allergic reactions.
More consistent quality compared to animal-derived insulin.
Large-scale production ensures availability for diabetes patients.
Commercial Production Example
The first recombinant human insulin, Humulin, was produced by Genentech in collaboration with Eli Lilly in 1982.
It is widely used to treat diabetes.
