Proteins, in general, play a crucial role in all organisms. They’re the backbone of all biological processes in cells, such as gene expression, cell growth, nutrient uptake, and intercellular communication, among others. Proteins are grouped into different categories depending on their important roles in the body. They can be antibodies, transport proteins, enzymes, cytokines, hormones, signaling peptides, etc. These vital roles have made them a center of intense studies and broad application, which has led to the development of powerful techniques like recombinant protein production. Recombinant proteins play a major role in various sectors, including medicine, research, and biotechnology. You can check out the natural tcgf review to look at some recombinant protein products.
What are Recombinant Proteins?
To put it simply, recombinant proteins are genetically engineered antibodies translated from the DNA of living cells. The production of recombinant proteins involves powerful biological techniques that have evolved with time. Unlike in the past (where the main way of getting a particular protein involved isolating it from a natural source), these recent techniques have made it possible to clone the DNA of a protein and turn it into an expression vector which is then introduced into a host cell. These proteins have broad applications in various sectors, including biotechnology, medicine, basic life science research, and more (some will be discussed below).
Uses of Recombinant Proteins
Proteins have been studied intensively and used widely for a long time. Recombinant proteins, in particular, are increasingly being used in various industries and play irreplaceable roles. Currently, its market value is estimated at $280.5 million and is set to grow as more application areas are discovered. Let’s take a look at the major application areas of recombinant proteins.
Biomedical Research
Recombinant proteins play a crucial role in understanding protein-to-protein interactions in organisms. These interactions can be classified as either stable or transient and play a vital role in cellular interactions. Various cellular activities such as metabolism, growth, replication, transcription, and translation have been understood better today, thanks to recombinant proteins. They are used in various research fields such as molecular biology, cell biology, biochemistry, and structural and biophysical studies.
Recombinant proteins have proven useful in laboratory techniques like ELISA, Western Blot, and immunohistochemistry (IHC). They are used to make enzymatic assays (which are used for various purposes). In the ELISA technique, recombinant proteins serve as standards, while in Western Blot and IHC, they can be used as positive controls (they are used alongside a matched antibody pair). Recombinant proteins also play a crucial role in understanding cellular responses to various situations such as stress and disease.
Biotherapeutics
Many diseases affecting humans emanate or are related to the impairment of specific proteins. Recombinant proteins have been successfully developed in several effective therapies for conditions and ailments such as diabetes, cancer, anemia, dwarfism, myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, and a host of infectious diseases. Some of the most common recombinant proteins used to develop such therapies include Fc fusion proteins, antibodies, recombinant hormones, growth factors, interferons, interleukins, and enzymes. The FDA has approved at least 130 recombinant proteins for use out of more than 170 produced and used worldwide.
The production and use of recombinant proteins as effective drugs are on exponential growth and have made it a multimillion-dollar industry. Their popularity is not only due to their effectiveness but also because they are safe from unexpected off-target effects. The FDA has approved many recombinant protein vaccines; the most notable is the Hepatitis B vaccine for preventing the Hepatitis B virus.
Biotechnology
Other vital application areas of recombinant proteins include food production, bioengineering, and various agriculture sectors. Animal reproduction is one such area that recombinant antibodies are used extensively. Reproductive hormones are used broadly for purposes such as regulating reproductive functions in animals (both male and female), maintaining pregnancies in dams, and regulating their ovulation (to enhance fertility), improving meat quality by sterilizing males, among others. Besides animal production, recombinant proteins are also used to improve the quality of animal feeds. This helps in many ways, such as boosting the nutritional value of feeds, promoting animal gut health, improving the environment, and boosting animal performance.
The overall importance of recombinant proteins is increasing rapidly due to technological advancements. More and more application areas are coming up with time, and more progress in clinical treatments, research, and diagnostic reagents is expected in the future. However, like everything, recombinant proteins also have their share of limitations. For instance, their production is complex and expensive. It is also time-consuming and may have the tendency to produce unwanted or unexpected immune responses in the body.
