Briefly explain the structure of human insulin. What was the main challenge for production of insulin using rDNA technique?

Explanation

Insulin consists of two short polypeptide chains A and B, that are linked together by disulphide bridges. Insulin is synthesised as a prohormone which contains an extra stretch called the C-peptide. This C peptide is not present in the mature insulin and is removed during maturation into insulin. The main challenge for production of insulin using recombinant DNA techniques was getting insulin assembled into a mature form.