840.119:Human Growth Hormones

Abstract

Microbial biotechnology has been essential in the development and improvement of human growth hormones. This page and project are dedicated to detailed study and research about the technology involved in human growth hormone development, products and services, why microbes are important, the scientific approach, the market for these products, impacts and potential impacts, associated risks, and ethical issues.

State of the Art

As noted by the United States Department of Agriculture, the use of microbial biotechnology has and will lead to breakthroughs in many fields, including pharmaceuticals. The use of microbial biotechnology in the creation of human growth hormones is not new or foreign to the field of biotechnology, but it is constantly in a state of progress and evolution. Prior to the use of recombinant DNA, human growth hormones necessary to help individuals with diseases such as hypopituitarism were obtained only from the pituitary glands of human cadavers. This, naturally, had many negative implications and left a great deal of room for improvement in human growth hormone production. The first commercially available human growth hormone made using microbial biotechnology was produced in 1985 by scientists at Genetech. This led to possible production of an almost endless supply of this very vital pharmaceutical.

Somatotropin, the scientific name for human growth hormones, is a protein consisting of 191 amino acids. The approximate weight of this protein is 22,000 dalton. Its primary purpose is the promotion of linear growth in individuals with human growth disorders including, but not limited to, hypopititary dwarfism, somatopause, pediatric growth hormone deficiency, and adult growth hormone deficiency. It can also be helpful in treating other, seemingly unrelated disorders like burns, bone fractures, and bleeding ulcers.

Objectives

There are obvious advantages in using biotechnology, and specifically in using microbial biotechnology, to create human growth hormones. These advantages can be made more clearly by exploring the history and the evolution of human growth hormone production. As noted previously, prior to the discovery of microbial biotechnology as a superior method of production, growth hormones were purified from human cadaver pituitaries. When using animal biotechnology, there were several disadvantages. Obviously, this was associated with several health risks. Because so many pituitary glands were necessary to create the needed supply of human growth hormones, there were incredible shortages of this essential medication. These hormones could not be made quickly enough to supply all patients with the pharmaceuticals they needed. There were simply not enough cadavers available. This was a particular problem in the 1970s when autopsy rates in the United States dropped. Using human cadavers was very costly as well. In using microbial biotechnology, lack of resources is no longer a problem. Escherichia coli, the bacteria used in the production of human growth hormones is widely available. This obviously resulted in reduced costs of production as well.

References

Berlin, C. (1997) Considerations related to the use of recombinant human growth hormones in children. Pediatrics (99)1, 122-129.

• Microbial Biotechnology. United States Department of Agriculture: Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service. September 6, 2006 <http://www.csrees.usda.gov/nea/biotech/in_focus/biotechnology_if_microbial.html>

McNerney, T., Watson, S., Sim, J., & Bridenbaugh, R. (1996) Separation of recombinant human growth hormone from Escherichia coli cell pellet extract capillary zone electrophoresis. Journal of Chromatography (A)744, 223-229.

Salomon, F., Cuneo, R., Hesp, R., & Sonksen, P. (1989) The effects of treatment with recombinant human growth hormone on body composition and metabolism in adults with growth hormone deficiency. New England Journal of Medicine (321) 1797-1803.