NEETZoologyBiotechnology and Its Applications
In 1983, Eli Lilly successfully produced the A and B chains of human insulin separately in genetically engineered E. coli. How were these extracted chains processed to form functionally active mature human insulin?
Options
- ABy enzymatically cleaving the C-peptide from the chains
- BBy linking the A and B chains using hydrogen bonds
- CBy combining them artificially by creating disulfide bonds
- DBy introducing human pancreatic enzymes into the bacterial culture to fold them
Correct answer
C. By combining them artificially by creating disulfide bonds
Step-by-step solution
According to NCERT, Eli Lilly prepared two DNA sequences corresponding to A and B chains of human insulin and introduced them in plasmids of E. coli to produce insulin chains. Chains A and B were produced separately, extracted and combined by creating disulfide bonds to form human insulin. Cleaving the C-peptide is a step in the natural maturation of proinsulin in the human body, not in the recombinant process where A and B chains are produced separately. The bonds that link the two chains are disulfide bonds, not