Oral Immunization with a Recombinant Bacterial Antigen Produced in Transgenic Plants

Abstract

The binding subunit of Escherichia coli heat-labile enterotoxin (LT-B) is a highly active oral immunogen. Transgenic tobacco and potato plants were made with the use of genes encoding LT-B or an LT-B fusion protein with a microsomal retention sequence. The plants expressed the foreign peptides, both of which formed oligomers that bound the natural ligand. Mice immunized by gavage produced serum and gut mucosal anti-LT-B immunoglobulins that neutralized the enterotoxin in cell protection assays. Feeding mice fresh transgenic potato tubers also caused oral immunization.

Medical molecular farming: production of antibodies, biopharmaceuticals and edible vaccines in plants

“…Proteins of microbial and viral pathogens were some of the earliest examples chosen to show the feasibility of transgenic plant expression systems [14][15][16][17] . The rationale was that key immunogenic proteins of major pathogens could be synthesized in plant tissues and then fed as edible subunit vaccines to humans or commercially important animals.…”

“…Plant-expressed antigens have been shown to able to induce mucosal and serum immune responses when administered parenterally or orally to experimental animals and, in some test cases, they have offered protection against a subsequent pathogen challenge or challenge model 14,16,[19][20][21][22][23][24] . A few of these vaccine candidates have been successfully tested in clinical trials or, where appropriate, in commercial or native animal trials [25][26][27][28][29][30] .…”

“…Early work with plant-based subunit vaccines used the readily transformed species tobacco, potato and tomato [14][15][16][17][18] . However, the most attractive species for expressing subunit vaccine components should have high levels of soluble protein that is stable during storage; seed crops such as cereals are particularly suitable.…”

Plantes, médicaments et génétique

“…Ainsi, C. Arntzen en 1995 propose de remplacer la vaccination par injection d'antigènes vaccinaux par l'administration par voie orale d'un végétal consommable produisant ces mêmes antigènes [4]. De là est né un nouveau concept : la « banane vaccin ».…”

Impfschutz durch den Verzehr von gentechnisch verändertem Obst oder Gemüse?

“…[7] 1995 HIV, Typ 1 chim~ires Hª des cowpea Vigna unguiculata (i) mosaic virus mit Epitopbereich des HIV-1 [8] 1995 Plasmodium malariae chim~ires Hª des tobacco mosaic virus mit Epitopbereich von P. malariae [9] 1995 E. coli Untereinheit (11,6 kDa) des Hitze-Nicotiana tabacum (t) instabilen Enterotoxins von Solanum tuberosum (t) E. coli [10] 1995 Hepatitis B Virus Hª des Hepatitis B Nicotiana tabacum (t) Virus [11] 1996 Norwalk Virus virales Kapsid-Protein (58 kDa) Nicotiana tabacurn (t) des Norwalk Virus [12] Solanum tuberosum (t) Untersuchungen aus den Jahren 1990 bis 1994 haben gezeigt, dat~ in Analogie zu der Synthese und Assemblierung ron Antik6rpern in tierischen Zellen auch in pflanzlichen ZeUen die Untereinheiten der Antik6rper zun~ichst als Precursor mit Signalsequenzen im Zytoplasma synthetisiert und nach Prozessierung ira ER unter Mithilfe ron Chaperonen assembliert werden [16][17][18][19]. Darª hinaus konnte gezeigt werden, dafl das pflanzliche System auch zur Synthese von sekretorischen Antik6rpern bef~.higt ist [15], wie sie unter anderem auch im Darmtrakt auftreten.…”