Question

Why was the cow insulin an effective substitute for the human insulin?

Answer 1

Pork and beef insulins are similar to human insulin, differing only in one or a few amino acids. However, even a slight difference is enough to elicit an allergic response in some people. To overcome this problem, researchers looked for ways to make insulin that would more closely resemble human insulin.

Answer 2

The insulin of the cows is very similar to the human one, differing in the composition three amino acids.

Step-by-step explanation:

Insulin is a peptide hormone, with a very complex structure. Its structure is formed by 51 amino acids distributed in two chains, linked by disulfide bonds between the cysteine amino acids. Cow insulin is different in three amino acids from human insulin. This difference is quite significant to produce allergy. To solve the problem, a process known as transpeptidization must be applied, which allows the substitution of the three different amino acids with the amino acids of the human insulin sequence.