Chicken eggs as drug factories

Researchers at Scotland’s Roslin Institute have genetically modified chickens to produce human proteins in their eggs. Production from chickens can cost anywhere from 10 to 100 times less than in factories

1. Therapeutic gene: Inserted into lentivirus

2. Lentivirus: Injected into blastoderm of freshly fertilized chicken embryo

Lentivirus
Blastoderm 
Egg
Yolk

3. Transgenic chickens: Eggs are allowed to hatch – chicks grow to maturity

4. Protein gene: Protein is encoded in chicken’s DNA. Human protein rather than protein ovalbumin is produced in egg white

5. Cockerels: Screened for those that produce new gene in their semen.
These breed with normal hens to produce flocks of chickens that create target
protein

Just three eggs are enough to produce clinically usable dose of drug



Sources: BMC Biotechnology, Eurekalert, Roslin Technologies        © GRAPHIC NEWS