Lettuce Pills May Help Treat Haemophilia

Source URL: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/lettuce-pills-you-heard-that-right-may-help-treat-haemophilia/
Name: Lee Dong
Author and Date of Article: Elie Dolgin, Dec. 16 2014

Article Summary:
            In humans, there are two common forms of Haemophilia, a disorder that impairs the body's ability to clot blood.The second most common form of Haemophilia, Haemophilia B, is when the body has a natural lack of Factor IX, a protein that helps the coagulation or clotting of the blood. However, when 5% of humans with Haemophilia B are treated with a replacement coagulation proteins, the body mistakes the foreign therapy proteins as dangerous and develops an antibody that fights the protein. This problem is even worse with the most common form of Haemophilia, Haemophilia A, when the body lacks the protein Factor VIII. 30% of humans suffering from Haemophilia A start to produce antibodies to therapy proteins of Factor VIII. In fact, if the therapy continues with both forms of Haemophilia when there is an antibody produced by the body, life-threatening allergic reactions like anaphylaxis can occur.
           A treatment developed by scientists partially solves this by very frequently inserting the proteins needed to lower antibody resistance to them. However, this has a success rate of only 75% and is not only time-consuming but very expensive. But with the genetic engineering of lettuce cells to contain chloroplasts producing Factor IX and VIII, one can avoid the production of antibodies for the foreign proteins before the therapy even starts to insert them into the human body. Although this lettuce-cell powder does not prevent the failure of clotting blood by themselves, it prevents antibodies from forming so effective proteins can be inserted without immune resistance.

Article Significance:
            The mentioned article is very relevant to two focuses that the Honors Biology curriculum has touched in the span of the ongoing year: genetics and GMOs. Haemophilia is a sex-linked trait, occuring on the X chromosome. Thus, males are more susceptible to Haemophilia because they only have one X chromosome, thus if the gene for Haemophilia is inherited from that X chromosome, the male will have Haemophilia. Since this is treated by genetically modified lettuce chloroplasts, this also would cover the mini-unit on GMOs. The lettuce cells that had been used did not initially contain anything that produced Factor IX or Factor VIII, all genes of which were shot into the lettuce cells via gene gun or a bacteria plasmid infection. Thus, the lettuce cells are considered GMO, and are used in this case for medicine. Relating to the class debate regarding the use of GMOs in present-day society, this could be used as supporting data as to why GMOs can be beneficial, finding a way to regulate haemophilia in both a more convenient and cost-effective method.