Therapeutic use of cells Flashcards
What do therapeutic use of cells mean?
Medical research has led to the cell and cell products being used to treat diseases
What does genetic engineering allow?
The organism that received the gene to produce a protein that it couldn’t make before
What are some examples of therapeutic use of cells?
Genetic engineering, transfusions, transplants, stem cells
What does genetic engineering involve?
Cutting a gene out of 1 piece of DNA and transplanting it into another
Why is bacteria useful for genetic engineering?
They are easy to grow, reproduce quickly & contain plasmids
Why are bacterial plasmids useful in genetic engineering?
They have plasmids which can be removed from bacterial cells & can be attached by foreign DNA
What does a bacteria cell have?
Flagellum, cell wall, cell membrane, cytoplasm, plasmids & chromosomes
What happens to new recombinant plasmids?
They are placed into other bacterial cells which create a new protein
What do people who have diabetes can’t do?
Produce the hormone called insulin
What is insulin?
A hormone which controls blood glucose concentration
What happens if someone doesn’t have enough insulin?
Blood glucose can get dangerously high and can be fatal
What is a gene?
A piece of DNA carrying the instructions for building a protein
How can diabetes be treated?
Regular injections of insulin
What is the process of getting insulin
- Insulin gene is cut out of human DNA
- Plasmid is isolated from bacteria and cut open
- 2 pieces of DNA are glued together making a recombinant plasmid
- New recombinant plasmid is put back into the bacterial cell
- Bacteria reproduce in culture and start making insulin
- Extract and purify insulin
