You've heard of milking cows and goats and sheep, but what about rabbits? The Netherlands-based biotech firm, Pharming, is "ready to start commercially milking rabbits." But this doesn't mean that you are going to be finding rabbit cheese on supermarket shelves. These genetically engineered rabbits are being milked to produce a potentially life saving drug.
These rabbits have been genetically engineered to produce a human protein called C1 inhibitor. A drug created from this protein can be used to treat people with hereditary angioedema. This is a rare, potentially fatal genetic disorder caused by a deficiency of the plasma protein C1 inhibitor. It is characterized by swelling of the extremities, face, trunk, abdomen and upper airway, which can cause severe pain and potential death.
One of the only treatments currently available is C1 inhibitor concentrate obtained from donor blood. While this is a useful treatment, complications can arise in the form of blood viruses and limited resources. One possible solution to these problems is developing a drug from the milk of genetically engineered rabbits. Because the protein is produced in the milk, there is no chance of contamination from viruses, and because you are not restrained by limited resources of donor blood, the protein is produced in nearly unlimited quantities.
A rabbit can produce on average 120 milliliters of milk a day, and in the modified rabbits, each liter contains 12 grams of human C1 inhibitor. This is a readily available, contaminant free source of the protein needed. Pharming has been milking rabbits for years, and they have recently developed the drug Rhucin as a treatment for hereditary angioedema. The company submitted the drug for market approval in September, and an official verdict is expected some time next year. If the drug is approved, the company would start milking a herd of about a thousand rabbits, which would produce around 1,440 grams of C1 inhibitor a day.
In regards to the ethics of this new discovery, the rabbits "stay relaxed and appear to suffer no discomfort during milking." They are milked using mini pump machines very similar to those used in milking cows, simply on a smaller scale.
These Dutch bunnies aren't the first animals milked in the name of human health. A farm in Russia recently milked mice to produce human breast milk substitutes, and are hoping to advance towards producing the protein in goats. But rabbits are well suited to producing complex proteins that can hopefully lead to other new medicines; transgenic bunnies are currently being investigated for potential treatments for stroke victims and organ transplant patients. The breeding processes are faster than goats and cattle, and, as mentioned above, the milk production is sufficient for the desired needs.
For more information, see the following sources used:
Group, Pharming. "Pharming Recombinant Human C1 Inhibitor: Results In Pre-clinical Ischaemic Reperfusion Model Confirm Potential For New Indications." 22 October 2009. Pharming Group NV. 1 December 2009 <http://www.pharming.com/index.php?act=medi>.
Owen, James. "Rabbits Milked for Human Protein; Drug Soon for Sale?" 1 December 2009. National Geographic. 1 December 2009 <http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/12/091201-rabbits-milk-human-protein-drug.html>.
U.S. Hereditary Angioedema Association. 2009. 1 December 2009 <http://www.haea.org/index.php>.
Julia,
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting topic. When I was researching eating a vegan diet, I found that there is no nutritional necessity for humans to drink the milk of other animals, although it does have nutritional benefits.
In fact, humans are the only group that drink the milk of other animals, all other animals stop drinking milk after they reach maturity, and only drink the milk produced by their mothers. Perhaps it's because of the technological advancements humans have achieved, and our ability to research the benefits and drawbacks of drinking milk from other animals.
Obviously this rabbit milk has medical benefits, but its interesting that we consume milk that is really only meant to be drank by the offspring of the animal.