This new technique developed by scientists at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston produced high levels of human growth hormone in mice. The research is reported in the Jan. 19 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . We found a simple way to control protein production with a pill containing the drug mifepristone, also known as RU486.
Mifepristone is used to treat brain tumors, fibroids, and breast cancer.
In doses 1,000 times larger, mifepristone is used to induce abortion, but the small dose used for O'Malley's research has no effect on biological reproduction. Genes instruct the body to produce different amounts of protein in specific places at specific times. During gene therapy, genes from a laboratory are placed in the body to carry out a function that might help treat a disease or other health problem. O'Malley and colleagues developed a gene that can be programmed to help produce human growth hormone. The gene has a built-in sensitivity to mifepristone.