Glow In The Dark Piglets Could Treat People with Hemophilia?

Photo from: http://www.onenewspage.com/n/Science/74w63kxs1/First-Glow-In-The-Dark-Piglets-Created-Using.htm

The births of ten transgenic piglets that glow bright green under a black light have overseen by the researchers at the South China University. Why they glow in the dark? The ability to glow comes from green fluorescent protein (GFP), which is very commonly used in genetic work. GFP is derived from bio luminescent jellyfish protein and is just used as a marker. But these glow-in-the-dark piglets could someday help people who suffer from hemophilia and other disorders according to the researchers. 

Individuals with hemophilia have a hard time recovering from injury and can also spontaneously bleed internally in joints and in the head. They are also at an increased risk of developing heart and renal disease. Hemophilia is a hereditary disorder in which blood has a decreased ability to coagulate and clot. There are two types of hemophilia, and about 1 in 5,000 males will be born with the disorder. Females are capable of getting it, though it is incredibly rare.

Though there is already an existing treatment for hemophilia--it is to receive enzymes to help clot their blood via transfusion. While a facility could be set up to synthesize the enzymes, it’s a lot easier and cheaper to just make them inside of animals. It does not harm the pig at all, it just gives the researchers a very clear visual that the genetic modification worked and they reached their intended target. Genetically modifying an animal model to crank out the much needed enzymes would boost production and provide life-saving treatments to those in need.

Blogpost by: Aisha Macud

Reference:

Moisyadi, S. (2013). “Piglets glow green, thanks to UHM scientists' reproductive technique

Retrieved from http://www.manoa.hawaii.edu/news/article.php?aId=6197 on February 2, 2014.