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Removing Gene for Mad-Cow Disease May Breed Healthier Cattle
By Catherine Larkin
Dec. 31 (Bloomberg) -- Cattle can be genetically altered to lack the protein that causes mad-cow disease without adverse health effects, a study suggests.
Scientists at Hematech Inc., a unit of Japan's Kirin Brewery Co., and the U.S. Department of Agriculture found that cows bred without the so-called prion protein were healthy at age 20 months and their tissue showed signs of resistance to mad-cow disease. The brain-wasting illness is fatal to cows and has been linked to almost 200 human deaths in the past decade.
The findings, published today on the Web site of the journal Nature Biotechnology, suggest that genetic modifications can protect cattle from mad-cow disease, potentially eradicating the threat to livestock and the people who eat them or use products made from them. James Robl, president of Hematech, said the company hopes to sell its research to agriculture or industry groups.
The technology ``alleviates the concerns about bovine products and the risk of contamination,'' Robl said in a telephone interview. ``We have an interest in licensing this technology but don't anticipate pursuing it ourselves.''
Knocking out the gene for mad-cow disease, also called bovine spongiform encephalopathy, is a ``side project'' for Hematech's efforts to develop human medicines in cows, Robl said. Kirin, Japan's largest beverage maker, announced in May 2004 that it planned to produce drugs based on human antibodies grown in cattle.
Testing in People
Robl said Hematech needed to see whether it could protect cattle from mad-cow disease before it could begin testing cow- derived medicines in people, a process he thinks may begin in the ``next several years.'' The prion protein can cause mad-cow disease, or the human variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, if it becomes folded abnormally in cells.
For this study, scientists bred a dozen prion-free bulls and then tested a sample of their tissue at age 20 months by mixing it in a lab with tissue from an animal that had died of mad-cow disease. The altered cows' tissue didn't become contaminated, while tissue from conventional cows did.
Robl said the final verdict on mad-cow immunity will come in the next year after scientists complete a study injecting contaminated tissue directly into the brains of live animals.
Interest
Gene-altering technology, if it works, may benefit farmers or biotechnology companies using bovine serum in their labs, Robl said. Several groups have already contacted Hematech about the process, though Robl declined to name any potential buyers or estimate how much the technology may sell for.
Robl said interest in breeding genetically altered cows may rise after the Food and Drug Administration said yesterday that cloned animal products appear to be safe to eat and may be allowed into the U.S. food supply as early as next year.
Hematech's technology involves a two-step process where scientists individually remove each copy of the prion protein from both parents of a cow embryo, and then clone it to produce a calf. This study was paid for the company, and the Agriculture Department helped with testing the animals for mad-cow disease.
To contact the reporter on this story: Catherine Larkin in Washington at [email protected] .
Last Updated: December 31, 2006 13:00 EST
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aROCMcTjM8_g&refer=home
By Catherine Larkin
Dec. 31 (Bloomberg) -- Cattle can be genetically altered to lack the protein that causes mad-cow disease without adverse health effects, a study suggests.
Scientists at Hematech Inc., a unit of Japan's Kirin Brewery Co., and the U.S. Department of Agriculture found that cows bred without the so-called prion protein were healthy at age 20 months and their tissue showed signs of resistance to mad-cow disease. The brain-wasting illness is fatal to cows and has been linked to almost 200 human deaths in the past decade.
The findings, published today on the Web site of the journal Nature Biotechnology, suggest that genetic modifications can protect cattle from mad-cow disease, potentially eradicating the threat to livestock and the people who eat them or use products made from them. James Robl, president of Hematech, said the company hopes to sell its research to agriculture or industry groups.
The technology ``alleviates the concerns about bovine products and the risk of contamination,'' Robl said in a telephone interview. ``We have an interest in licensing this technology but don't anticipate pursuing it ourselves.''
Knocking out the gene for mad-cow disease, also called bovine spongiform encephalopathy, is a ``side project'' for Hematech's efforts to develop human medicines in cows, Robl said. Kirin, Japan's largest beverage maker, announced in May 2004 that it planned to produce drugs based on human antibodies grown in cattle.
Testing in People
Robl said Hematech needed to see whether it could protect cattle from mad-cow disease before it could begin testing cow- derived medicines in people, a process he thinks may begin in the ``next several years.'' The prion protein can cause mad-cow disease, or the human variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, if it becomes folded abnormally in cells.
For this study, scientists bred a dozen prion-free bulls and then tested a sample of their tissue at age 20 months by mixing it in a lab with tissue from an animal that had died of mad-cow disease. The altered cows' tissue didn't become contaminated, while tissue from conventional cows did.
Robl said the final verdict on mad-cow immunity will come in the next year after scientists complete a study injecting contaminated tissue directly into the brains of live animals.
Interest
Gene-altering technology, if it works, may benefit farmers or biotechnology companies using bovine serum in their labs, Robl said. Several groups have already contacted Hematech about the process, though Robl declined to name any potential buyers or estimate how much the technology may sell for.
Robl said interest in breeding genetically altered cows may rise after the Food and Drug Administration said yesterday that cloned animal products appear to be safe to eat and may be allowed into the U.S. food supply as early as next year.
Hematech's technology involves a two-step process where scientists individually remove each copy of the prion protein from both parents of a cow embryo, and then clone it to produce a calf. This study was paid for the company, and the Agriculture Department helped with testing the animals for mad-cow disease.
To contact the reporter on this story: Catherine Larkin in Washington at [email protected] .
Last Updated: December 31, 2006 13:00 EST
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aROCMcTjM8_g&refer=home