Drug products of recombinant DNA technology

Presented are the steps in creating a recombinant DNA molecule, examples of recombinant drug products, a description of DNA fingerprinting methods for diagnosing diseases, a discussion of the patenting of recombinant drugs, and a look to the future of this revolutionary biotechnology. Constructing a recombinant DNA molecule involves cutting the DNA into fragments with restriction endonucleases and rejoining the fragments in novel arrangements with ligase. Propagating the molecule in a microorganism, or cloning, is necessary to increase the number of gene copies to facilitate detection of the gene of interest and to produce the protein it encodes. Recombinant DNA drug products have been developed that represent the communicator, structural, and modifier classes of proteins. Recombinant communicator proteins include interferons alfa-2a and alfa-2b and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (immune system modulators); epidermal growth factor and erythropoietin (tissue repair promoters); and human insulin, growth hormone, and atrial peptide (metabolism modulators). Recombinant structural proteins include hepatitis B virus vaccine and CD4 protein, and recombinant modifier proteins include tissue plasminogen activator and superoxide dismutase (agents that split or splice organic molecules). In the future, gene defects associated with genetic diseases will be unraveled, leading to the production of new therapeutic agents designed to counteract or actually reverse those defects. Recombinant protein drugs will be further tailored to enhance their activity and specificity. These advances are so novel and momentous that patent protection has been extended not only to recombinant drugs but to the recombinant microorganisms in which they are manufactured. In cloning genes, investigators directly use the protein designs that occur naturally. Basic research will soon lead to the engineering of novel proteins with specified functions.