Certain human proteins, such as insulin, are sometimes needed on demand.  Unfortunately, our bodies can not produce them on the spot.  This can be very dangerous for some people, like those with diabetes.  Diabetics do not produce enough insulin, and therefore they need a way to obtain new insulin.  Through genetic engineering, insulin can be created to be ready when needed.
    Genes can be transplanted from one organism to another through the use of genetic engineering.  The genes can then be combined with genes of the second organism.  This is used to move human genes into mammals such as goats and sheep so that the animals can then produce great quantities of human proteins, such as insulin.  Microorganisms are also used to help produce human proteins.  This is useful so that there will always be a supply of insulin for people with diabetes.  The proceduce of transplanting genes is shown below using a bacterium.
 

An insulin producing gene is extracted from a human  pancreas.  It is then put into an open plasmid from the bacterium.  This plasmid is now put back into the bacterium and now the bacterium can produce human insulin.
	image borrowed from Understanding the Immune System , with information provided by the National Cancer Institute and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

back to pros
back to the table of contents

Created as part of a term project for SCEN103 at the University of Delaware  Comments, suggestions, or requests to aliz@udel.edu "http://www.udel.edu/physics/scen103/CGZ/insulin.html"  Last updated May 11, 2000.  Copyright Jen Franchino, Vinnie Verruto, Allison Zuckerbrow,  Jeff May, Univ. of Delaware, 2000