August 24, 1999
Human Gene In Cow's Milk Part Of MS Treatment Test
By Rodney Joyce
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (Reuters) - A New Zealand government research
agency said Tuesday it planned to introduce a human protein gene into
cattle as part of research into a possible treatment for multiple
sclerosis, also known as MS.
AgResearch said it had applied to New Zealand's Environmental Risk
Management Authority (ERMA) for permission to undertake a series of
experiments on transgenic cattle.
The authority is responsible for compliance with biosecurity and other
environmental safety regulations.
AgResearch said it hoped the introduction of a copied human myelin basic
protein (MBP) gene would lead to the production of large amounts of the
protein in cows' milk.
Scientists believe MS, a chronic disease of the central nervous system,
is caused by the patchy degeneration of the myelin sheath that coats
nerves in the brain and spinal cord.
Retrieving the MBP from modified milk produced in the experiments would
allow the protein to be used in tests of its efficacy as a treatment for
MS sufferers, AgResearch said.
``In animals showing clinical signs of the disease, recovery can be
helped by ingestion of myelin basic protein,'' AgResearch scientist Dr
Phil L'Huillier said in a statement.
``Cattle are a good choice to help produce this protein since they
produce large quantities of milk.''
If the MBP from genetically modified milk proved useful, it could
potentially prove to be a breakthrough, he said.
The modification would be done by introducing a human gene to bovine
cells in a laboratory and injecting them into bovine eggs.
Two other experiments being pursued separately by the same team of dairy
researchers would involve the introduction of additional cattle casein
genes, and the disruption of another gene to boost dairy production.
Both were hoping to establish whether there was any long-term value to
the dairy industry in improving what they called ``the processing
characteristics and nutritive value'' of milk.
AgResearch's five-year proposal involved the production of three small
herds of up to 30 head of cattle each for the projects at a secure
containment site in the Waikato region.
``The aim is to produce transgenic animals of the three types and raise
them to sexual maturity so they can be bred and brought into lactation
in order to evaluate the effect of the genetic modifications on protein
production,'' L'Huillier said.
The application goes before the authority Wednesday.
Genetically modified mammals were first produced in 1996, when ``Dolly''
the sheep was cloned in a Scottish laboratory.
Earlier this year ERMA approved an application from Dolly's developers,
PPL Therapeutics, to breed a flock of sheep in New Zealand with another
human protein gene in a bid to fight the lung tissue disease cystic
fibrosis.
Copyright © 1996-1999 Reuters Limited.
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/19990824/sc/science_transgenic_3.html
--
Judith Richards, London, Ontario, Canada
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