Production of Erythropoietin (EPO)

Production of Erythropoietin (EPO)

Our kidneys produce a substance called Erythropoietin (EPO).

Produces hormones that enter the bone marrow with the bloodstream. EPO stimulates bone marrow cells to divide and produce more RBCs (red blood cells). People whose kidneys are damaged or almost useless need regular dialysis. During dialysis, this hormone (EPO) is also removed from the blood, resulting in the RBC in the patient's body being completely reduced; the patient, therefore, suffers from anemia.

Preparation Process of EPO

The process of preparation of EPO is described below:

(i) Isolation of EPO gene from the human body.

(ii) insertion of this gene into a suitable vector (plasmid) by subsequent cleavage with restriction enzymes and ligation with ligase enzymes.

(iii) Later introducing, this recombinant DNA into another bacterium (E. coli).

(iv) Cultivating thousands of copies of E. coli bacteria with recombinant DNA in a culture medium.

(v) Extraction of EPO protein from E. coli to prepare drug. Thousands of kidney patients are currently injected with EPO produced in E. coli to treat anemia.