Explain how recombinant Insulin can be produced.

Explanation

(i) Production of insulin by recombinant DNA technology started in the late 1970s. This technique involved the insertion of human insulin gene on the plasmids of E.coli.
(ii) The polypeptide chains are synthesized as a preursor called pre-pro insulin, which contains A and B segments linked by a third chain (C) and protected by a leader sequence .
(iii) The leader equence is removed after translation and the C chain is excised, leaving the A and B polypeptide chains.
(iv) Inslin was the first ever pharmaceutical prduct of recmobiant DNA technology administered to humans. The approval to use recombiant insulin for diabets mellitus was given in 1982. In 1986 human insulin was marketed under the trade name Humullin.
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