A promising new strategy to help broken bones heal faster

The study provides a new and ideal therapeutic option for diabetic fracture and other musculoskeletal diseases."

The study employed the plant-based drug production platform that Daniell has developed over many years, which entails introducing a protein of interest into plant cells, prompting them to begin expressing that gene in their cells, eventually producing that protein in their leaves which can be harvested and used in an oral therapy.

In this case, the target was a novel IGF-1, a protein important for bone and muscle health.

Lower levels of IGF-1 in the blood are known to be associated with an increased risk of breaking a bone.

From earlier work focused on muscular dystrophy conducted with former Penn Dental Medicine faculty member Elizabeth Barton, now at the University of Florida, the researchers believed that a particular form of IGF, a precursor of the protein that includes a separate component known as an e-peptide, was likely to stimulate regeneration better than mature IGF-1 that lacked the peptide.

Current IGF1 used in the clinic not only lacks the e-peptide but is also glycosylated, a less active form.

The team used methods that Daniell has refined to highly express the human version of IGF-1 in plant leaves and remove the antibiotic resistance gene that is used to select for plants growing the target protein, crucial steps to get a therapy ready for clinical use.