Question

Would the insulin isolated from other animals be just as effective as that secreted by the human body itself and would it not elicit an immune response in the human body?

Answer 1

• No, the insulin that is isolated from other animals such as from cows(bovine) and from pig(porcine) is not as effective as that, which secreted from the human body.
• As the earlier insulin bovine and porcine are antigenic and it elicits immune response also.
• It is because they possess a slightly different structure as that of human insulin.
• So in order to overcome these immune responses and antigenic property that arise from animal insulin human insulin was synthesized by using the recombinant DNA technology.
• It can also be explained in such a manner which is as follows:

Part 1: Effectivity of a non-human insulin

1. Insulin is a peptide hormone.​
2. When insulin isolated from other sources (pigs, cows) is used for treating diabetic patients, it may cause allergy.
3. This is because a protein from other animals may not be accepted by the immune system of the human body, recognised as non-self. This may interfere with the protein functionality.

Part 2: Immune response by insulin

1. Immune response triggered by an antigen depends on its chemical structure, complexity, size as well as the immunity of the person.​
2. Insulin isolated from pigs, cows will act as a foreign antigen for the human body, which may elicit an immune response such as allergy.