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vibriojoey t1_j8x077u wrote

Insulin is made by bacteria now

Testosterone is synthesized from plants that produce similar compounds that we can convert in a lab to create it. Estrogen is done through similar means as well. But bacteria may be used as well to create enzymes needs to syntheize it or make the entire hormone but every manufactuer has their methods and a lot of if it based on cost of the method and the total yield.

But strong knowledge of chemistry means their are multiple ways to get what you want and nature is wonderful resource for bioprospecting and finding tools you need. Again it all depends on price and some methods are more expensive then others. If you have thr funds to invest for the right machinery and tools you can easily make any method work to mass produce enough to make great profits.

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nicholsz t1_j8x9pt8 wrote

Replying to vibriojoey (#1,844,369)

Yeah, this. We just put the genes to create whatever molecule we want in a bunch of e. Coli and grow them in vats then harvest the molecule.

It's super easy to put genes in e. Coli since they don't have a nucleus, you just shove the DNA in there and away they go.

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CrateDane t1_j8yatur wrote

Replying to vibriojoey (#1,844,369)

>Insulin is made by bacteria now

Or yeast. Bacteria usually give higher crude yields of protein, while yeast is better at making eukaryotic proteins correctly (or closer to it, at least).

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zucchinibellini t1_j9xod4x wrote

We still use swine thyroid for thyroid hormone replacement. The most familiar US brand is Armour. The meatpacking company.

The parade example of a female hormone replacement agent —conjugated estrogens—is known by the brand name Premarin, because it comes from PREgnant MAre uRINe. Before a good system was developed to harvest horse urine, there were early estrogen products (1930s) made from pregnant human urine.

Human Growth Hormone can now be produced using recombinant DNA tools, but the earliest treatments for growth hormone deficiency were developed by harvesting the pituitary glands from cadaver humans. Animal growth hormones never worked in humans.

Bovine and porcine sources for insulin are still used in some parts of the world.

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