A Research Facility in Russia Poised to Produce Breast Milk Substitutes After Successful Tests on Mice
Challenging Experiments
Thanks to human genes integrated into their genomes, genetically modified mice have, for the first time, produced lactoferrin. This special substance, found only in breast milk, protects infants from harmful microbes and bacteria while their immune systems are still developing.
The research objectives of Russian scientists align with those of many other countries: to extract lactoferrin from milk and use this protein to formulate powdered milk for “artificially” fed infants.
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(Photo: N.G) |
“Mouse milk is very high in protein, and it can be inferred that the genetically modified protein content is also very high,” wrote Patrick van Berkel, director of the Danish biotechnology company Benmab.
Dr. Elena Sadchikova from the Institute of Genetic Biology at the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow mentioned: “Breast milk contains about 4-5g of lactoferrin per liter, while the milk from genetically modified mice contains a staggering 160g/l.” However, it is impractical to turn mice into daily milk providers for humans. The milking process for mice is incredibly meticulous; they must be anesthetized, and a special pump is used to extract milk from their tiny teats. To scale this for industrial use, larger animals such as rabbits, goats, and cows must be selected.
Pharmaceuticals from Rabbit Milk
Human gene-modified rabbits have been milked on an industrial scale at the Dutch biotechnology company Pharming.
Rabbit milk containing human proteins is being formulated into a new drug to treat hereditary angioedema, a rare blood disorder that can lead to swelling of the body’s tissues.
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Genetically Modified Goats (Photo: N.G) |
“If used solely for pharmaceuticals, the necessary production volume is limited,” stated Sijmen de Vries, CEO of Pharming, “but to achieve a large quantity of lactoferrin for inclusion in infant formula, a much larger volume is needed.”
De Vries predicts that to obtain a large amount of lactoferrin, cows will need to be “brought into the picture.” Developing a herd of genetically modified cows to extract lactoferrin from their milk could meet industrial scale requirements in just 2 to 3 years.
However, Dr. Sadchikova of the Russian Institute of Genetic Biology has a different perspective. She favors the idea of developing genetically modified goats, believing it could further shorten the time to industrial production. She stated:
“The biggest advantage of goats is that their gestation period is only half that of cows. Moreover, goats can reach milking age three times faster than cows. They are less prone to disease, and even when they do get sick, their ailments differ from those of humans.”
