Hamster Rat for Drug

Rates like build a nest in a hidden place. There is kind of rat that is love nest in a high place like a nest or in the ground, but this depends on the location or environment rats lived.

Animals including mice that is exist worldwide, because always there is a rat. Both in the temperate region or in changes season and subtropical regions. Basically the mouse will stay where people live, because they will spend the rest of the remaining human food if there is, if I remain so, of course, eating food stored in cupboards or human raw food that is still stored.

Rats are difficult to diminished, because of rats nest difficult to reach by humans, and this animals breed easily. But there is some good news about the benefits of this rat nest. LIPI researchers created a synthetic hormone to build red blood cells. Material use yeast and barley plant virus.

At the first this man is stupefied in front of a dull and dark laboratory that has become a nest of tens of rats. In the room there was only dust, house spider, and smell.

"This is my room, what can I do with the condition of the room like this?" a man called Adi Santoso said to himself as if not believing. Doctor of biotechnology was 16 years of research in the laboratory United States during the first day he came to office in the new Center for Biotechnology Research Institute Science Indonesia (LIPI) in Cibinong, Bogor, Indonesia.

When he work in the United States, was spoiled with a range of great facilities. Not only the laboratory floor shine, but also the abundant fund research and paid with good salary. Back to Indonesia like bouncing from he's paradise: a dark and dirt laboratory, minimum facility, and pay with amount equivalent to the salary of a busway driver.

Early return from America, in October 2003, did not give a sweet impression. Two months he spent the time to clean up all the rat that stay on the room of 18 square meters. On this room also he delivered a synthetic hormone red blood cells growth.

Since June 2004, the men who always wear short and t-shirt in the laboratory, that is doing serious research. He missed hundreds morning to make a synthetic erythropoietin (EPO). EPO is a hormone protein produced by the normal human kidneys to help the growth of red blood cells. On people affected by the disease such as cancer, kidney failure, infection, or Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), the amount of this kind substance production downgrade dramatically. "As a result, the growth of red blood cells also disrupted," said Adi. This is also often cause anemia.


Doctors generally overcome this case by injection of synthetic EPO, with very cost price. "In a chronic kidney failure patients, one needle can be Rp 700 thousand," Parlindungan Siregar said, kidney experts from the Faculty of Medicine, University of Indonesia. This expensive of synthetic EPO drugs because of imported products.

While a patient may undergo one to three times injection a week. A Dose is given about 100 to 150 units per kilogram body weight of the patient. For example, if the patient has a weight of 60 kg, a synthetic EPO dose can be reached 9000 units. Can you imagine how expensive this biotechnology drugs results.

Previously, a synthetic hormone injected only to people with failed kidneys on fifth stadium and already wash the blood. Later, more users use this drug because the doctors believe that synthetic EPO is also greatly help patients recover kidney failure on four stages that have not been washing of blood. "Hope that will increase hemoglobin," said Parlindungan.

According to Adi, Indonesia dependence on the import of medicine of biotechnology engineering result is high enough. In 2003, imported synthetic EPO to Indonesia worth Rp 1.1 billion per month. Either synthetic EPO, there are other drugs name result of engineering biotechnology. Insulin-to reduce blood sugar, normal used-diabetic patients, for example, imported worth of Rp 2.1 billion per month.

This needs is boosting of Adi’s interest on research of blood cells hormone. He then tried to make a new breakthrough. During this time, synthetic EPO is made using Chinese hamster uterus cells (Chinese hamster ovary or Cho), and baby hamster kidney (or baby hamster kidney BHK). But Adi makes attempt using yeast (pichiapastoris) and barley plants (Hordeum vulgare) by barley infected by stripe mosaic virus (BSMV).

Adi choose to change of using yeast cells due to the expensive of hamster uterus and baby hamster kidney. EPO is produce by hamster cells womb have price reach of U.S. $ 220, or about Rp 2.2 million per milligram (this amount equivalent to the salary of a researchers in LIPI).

Beside using yeast, Adi also try of making EPO using a synthetic virus barley, a plant in Indonesia is known to provide a sense to candy. Research with the virus was done in the January to June 2005. The virus that has three barley genom (alpha, beta, and gama) injected to barley-plant, this plant soon will mass plant in Lembang, Bandung, West Java.

While the original EPO genes derived from human kidney, a gift from colleagues in France, Dr Emmanuel Payen. This Hormone just stay on the barley virus in genom gama. "The infection is done for four days, and marked with the color changing trees become younger," he said. After that, for a synthetic EPO, then the plants been extracted.

After tenth time doing experiment, to obtain 25 parts of EPO derived from yeast and one part coming from the EPO barley virus. After Adi feel satisfy, in October of origin men Jember, East Java, is a test.

In fact, eight hours after the test, Adi nearly jumps gleeful. Spending the night-to stay in the laboratory and has been produce synthetic EPO that is similar to a hormone that buy from pharmaceutical companies in the United States. "What size is the same," Adi surprised and happy.

A man graduate of doctorate at North Dakota State University, United States, was aware that the road to change his finding to a drug EPO is still long. Now he is to square off against the purification of synthetic EPO has been obtained. Purification is planned next month. After that a new clinical test conducted on mammal cells. "If successful, the new increase in the rat and rabbit," he said.

For research with yeast, Adi got funds from the State Ministry of Research and Technology. Research was selected as the research of Unggulan Terpadu (Ruth) 2005. The research using virus is a competitive BSM LIPI program of 2004. All research funds awarded for three years.

Adi findings also make happy of Dr Endang Sukara APU, Deputy Head of LIPI Life Sciences field. Research prospect is very good, he said. "Indeed, research has focused on Indonesia at the genes scale."

If this research successfully and ready to delivered, Endang confident of making a new line research of biotechnology drugs. Endang hope, soon also be able to produce insulin by themselves.