In breakthrough, Turkish researchers produce therapeutic protein from transgenic rats

Turkish researchers have succeeded in producing a protein which prevents the uncontrolled division of cells (cancer) in transgenic rats' milk. The interferon (IFN) gamma protein promises to be a breakthrough in treating such diseases as cancer, hepatitis and viral infections. The research at the Turkish Scientific Technical Research Organization (TUBITAK) was considered the second of its kind in the world. It will allow researchers to produce the IFN gamma protein more abundantly and cheaply. "The development of genetic engineering techniques known as recombinant DNA technology allowed scientists to produce genetically modified organisms or transgenic organisms by collecting DNA molecules from various sources and combining them into one molecule to create a new set of genes," said Haydar Bagis of TUBITAK's Marmara Research Center (MAM) Institute for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology. "And the use of transgenic organisms had added momentum to research in biology, medicine and veterinary. We call those organisms bioreactors. During our work, we developed a new kind of transgenic rats which are resistant to freezing." He added, "Now we've succeeded in producing IFN gamma protein from their milk. This is a human gene which plays a significant role in the immune system. Up to now we've only been able to produce a limited amount of this therapeutic gene since we had to extract this therapeutic gene from human cells. Now we will produce the IFN gamma protein more abundantly and cheaply from the milk of transgenic rats."