Insulin and Vaccine Production

Introduction

Production of insulin and vaccines by using recombinant DNA technologies and modern biotechnology plays an important role in human welfare by providing them proper cures against a particular disease that possesses rare to severe side effects in the host body. The production of insulin and vaccine is a sub-branch of biotechnology which is categorised into a combination of immunology (study of the immune system)  and applied biology (science which deals with the production of therapies that are helpful to prevent the host body against a particular disease and disorder).

The production of insulin and vaccines uses animal cell cultures and their products which can be incorporated into various research that is ongoing in the field of biotechnology and immunology. With the help of techniques that are used in genetic engineering the generation and evaluation of newly produced germplasm have been reduced. The most commonly used animal cell lines are HeLa cell lines which are considered immortalised cell lines for cervical cancer.  

Basic Terminologies  

Cell line: Cell line can be defined as the colonies of cells that are genetically made up in which the contamination level is low and can be considered for the production of primary and secondary cultures. It is the reculturing of primary culture. 

Cell lines can be of two types: finite and continuous cell lines. Finite cell lines can be defined as the cell lines whose limit of survival is only for a few subcultures. 

Continuous cell lines can be defined as the cell lines which possess an infinite life span. 

Primary cell culture: Primary cell culture can be defined as the culture that is derived from the mother culture as it is fresh and the level of contamination into them is nearly high. These are considered heterogeneous and can be used for the production of vaccines invivo. 

Secondary cell culture: Secondary cell culture can be defined as the cultures which are derived from the primary cell cultures. They possess low contamination levels and can be used for antibody production in vitro.

Cell strain:  Cell strain can be defined as a specific cell culture that can have a finite or infinite life span. 

Production of vaccines: The field of biotechnology and healthcare potentially contribute financially and psychologically to the living society of both animals and humans. Vaccines can be defined as the biologically active molecules which protect against various human diseases by boosting the immune system. By the accumulation of vaccines intramuscularly inside the host body, the whole world got protection against smallpox in the year 1977 and Covid-19 in the 21st century. 

Characteristics of an Ideal Vaccine

• It should promote the antibodies to get prevention against a particular disease
• It should possess non-pathogenic properties
• It should have low or no side effects on the host body
• It should be contamination-free to the environment
• It should be cheap and affordable to human society
• The vaccination process to the host body must be simple
• It should not be carcinogenic

Different Types of Vaccines 

Live attenuated vaccines: Live attenuated vaccines can be defined as the vaccines which possess the property of heat liability. These are the products of animal cell cultures. 

Examples: Viral vaccines including hepatitis B, Influenza, Yellow fever

Inactivated vaccines: Inactivated vaccines can be defined as the vaccines which are produced against bacterial and viral diseases after chemical or heat inactivation. 

Examples: Polio

Toxoid vaccines: Toxoid vaccines protect a particular toxin.

Examples: Tetanus

Subunit or Recombinant vaccines: Vaccines that are produced by using rDNA technology.

Examples: Human papillomavirus

DNA vaccines: Example: Influenza virus

Edible vaccines: Edible vaccines can be defined as vaccines that can be produced with the help of plant cell cultures or animal cell cultures. Edible vaccines are those in which the production of antigen. These vaccines are a successful introduction of the desired gene into a plant to manufacture the encoded protein. For example, there are vaccines against cholera, influenza, hepatitis B, and rabies. Probiotics can be used as edible vaccines.

Edible vaccines are the products of plants that are genetically engineered like Tomato, Potato, Rice, Maize, and tobacco. They possess the properties of long shelf life, the easy transformation of desired genes, and growth occurs early. There are various edible algal vaccines which are the derivatives of single-celled plants which are born in water and can be used against malaria, classical swine flu, and foot and mouth diseases.

Production of Insulin: Alternate Brand Names of insulin includes Insulatard · Huminsulin N ·Insugen-N · Lupisulin N · Wosulin-N · Recosulin N · Insucare N · Insuman Basal which is helpful in the treatment of Diabetes mellitus Type 1 and Type 2 by maintaining the glucose and sugar level inside the host body. The increased level of sugar in the host body leads to various diseases like Kidney damage, circulatory diseases. Cows and pigs were the first animals that were used for the isolation of insulin. It was isolated from their pancreas. 

Production of Human Recombinant Insulin takes place from the two polypeptide chains which are termed as chain A and chain B whose interlinking is done by two disulfide bonds. 

The amino acid residues in both chains are different: A possesses 21 amino acids made up of glycine and asparagine while B possesses 30 amino acids made up of Phenylalanine and alanine. At the 7th and 20th positions of the A chain and the 7th and 19th positions of the B chain, the two disulfide bonds are interlinked with cysteine. There is also a presence of a third disulfide bond which occurs between the 6th and 17th positions of cysteine amino acid. Proinsulin can be defined as the biosynthesis of both insulins as a single polypeptide chain of 33 amino acids joined by disulfide bonds between them. 

Symptoms of Diabetes include Hunger, thirst, weight loss, and fatigue 

Conclusion

Production of Insulin and vaccines by using recombinant DNA technologies and modern biotechnology plays an important role in human welfare by providing them proper cure against a particular disease that possesses rare to severe side effects in the host body. The production of insulin and vaccines is a boon for the creation of optimised conditions with the help of genetic engineering which act as a supplier of biological catalysts such as microbes as well as various biological metabolites like enzymes, enriched nutritional byproducts which can be considered as a good source to combat this severity causing diseases. In short, we can say that biotechnology in the human welfare system must overwhelm the various known and unknown potential of this branch to society.