... Most medicines, up to this point, have been delivered into the body via simple pills or needles. But now, new drug delivery systems enabled by genetic engineering will make these old systems obsolete.
Our genomes are the chemical factories of our bodies. They produce everything that we are. This means that genetically engineered cells can use our genomic machinery to make valuable bioactive molecules. There are two major ways to do this.
One uses stem cells that are designed to become certain types of adult cells. For example, hemophiliacs could have cells that make Factor XI implanted into their bodies. This would enable normal coagulation. This approach could also be used to treat those who are deficient in other compounds. This includes diabetes, atherosclerosis, age-related muscle loss, and obesity.
The second cell-engineering strategy uses engineered gene plasmids. Plasmids are microscopic circular rings of DNA like those found in our mitochondria and bacteria. Almost any gene can be inserted by genetic engineers into these rings. Once activated, the transcriptional process runs nonstop to make the needed molecules… just like a model train on a circular track.
While this may seem like science fiction, this approach is already widely used in agricultural animals. FDA approval for human use is a little way off, but that might change due to the Zika virus threat...
...plasmids as DNA-manufacturing plants...Inovio’s secret sauce, by the way, is electroporation. Tiny openings in cell membranes are temporarily opened to allow plasmid entry using precise electrical signals....
... an injection of plasmids every year or two could replace routine pills and injections...
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