Cloned cows eyed as 'antibody banks'

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http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/20020813wo71.htm

 

Cloned cows eyed as 'antibody banks'

 

13Aug02

Yomiuri Shimbun

 

An international team of researchers has developed

cloned cows implanted with human antibody genes, which

can produce human antibodies to infectious diseases,

it was reported in the U.S. science journal Nature

Biotechnology issued Monday.

 

The development is expected to lead to mass production

of human antibodies as the cows have them in not only

their blood, but also their milk, the researchers

said.

 

The team included researchers from Kirin Brewery Co.'s

Pharmaceutical Research Laboratories in Takasaki,

Gunma Prefecture, and Hematech, a U.S. biotech company

based in Connecticut.

 

The team created the cloned cows by implanting human

antibody genes into bovine body cells and inserting

the nuclei into the eggs of other cows.

 

Proteins produced by human antibody genes were

detected in the cloned cows' blood, according to the

team.

 

In the human body, specific antibodies produced by the

immune system attack and kill invading organisms

depending on the kind of the organisms.

 

Ethically, however, humans cannot be used to produce

antibodies, leading the team to turn to cloning cows

as an efficient way to produce human antibodies.

 

According to the team, the cloned cows retain their

original bovine antibodies as well as the human

antibodies and the original antibodies need to be

removed.

 

A Holstein-Friesian cow can produce 8,000 to 10,000

liters of milk per year, meaning the cloned cows could

become a sort of factory for human antibodies, a team

member said.

 

Blood from healthy humans was used for the genetic

material in the experiment. A stable supply of human

antibodies that target specific infectious diseases

could be ensured if cows are created with antibody

genes from people who have been infected by those

diseases.

 

Copyright 2002 The Yomiuri Shimbun

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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