Cells secrete certain substances during or after cellular activity. Agriculture and other industries uses products of cellular activities to yield or to produce industrial chemical. Some cell secretions have been used by people to promote health as well as to increase production.
Prokayotes and Eukaryotes have been long used in traditional biotechnology specially in the food production process. The bacterium Acetobacter for example, produces an enzymes used to ferment sugar and to produce aecetic acid like vinegar.
Genetic engineering through recombinant DNA technology has made possible the manufacture of certain products in large amounts. For example, interferon can now be produced in large quantities and at the lower cost using the bacteria Escherichia coli. Interperon is a protein that slows down the growth of viruses and inhibits the transformation of a normal cells to tumor cells. It currently used to treat the transformation of cancer.
Gene therapy is another application of recombinant DNA technology. Here, a gene from a healthy human cell is inserted into the gene of a non diseases causing virus. The virus containing the inserted genes then enters defective cells such as bone marrow cells of bone cancer patients. DNA of the healthy gene becomes inserted into the defective cells DNA. The corrected cells is injected back and multiplies in the patient, curing him or her of the disease.
Gene therapy for correcting a genetic disorder such as bone cancer. A healthy normal gene is inserted into the genetic material ussually a virus. The carrier microorganism is made to infect the defective bone marrow cells. The healthy gene carried by the varus becomes inserted into the genes of defective cell. The corrected cell is injected back into the patient's bone. It multiplies into more healthy cells and replaces the defective ones.
Thanks for this Biological science article. It sheds light on the importance of cellular products as raw materials for producing certain things.