Bioreactor increases interleukin-12 production in genetically modified tobacco
December 4, 2008 by Grace Ibay
Filed under Genetically Modified Food, Immune Diseases: Allergies, AIDS and HIV
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This new study is along the lines of vaccine-producing bananas.
One of the best uses of genetic engineering of plants is producing rare proteins with medical use in larger quantities. Interleukin-12 is one of those proteins that our bodies produce in regulated quantities, but is very essential for the function of the immune system. Certain immune diseases are the result of having either too little or too much interleukin-12. If scientists can harness enough of the protein for research and therapeutic development, then perhaps certain diseases can be controlled better.
New findings published in the journal Biotechnology and Bioengineering found a way for interleukin-12 to be produced artificially inside genetically-modified tobacco in a more efficient way using nutrient mist bioreactors.
