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Production, expression, and function of dual-specific monoclonal antibodies in a single plant

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Abstract

Main conclusion

LSC CO17-1AK and anti-HER2 VHH-FcK can be produced in a single plant and exhibit anti-tumor activities comparable to those of their respective parent antibodies.

Abstract

Recombinant monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) which can be applied to treat various cancers, are primarily produced using mammalian, insect, and bacteria cell culture systems. Plant expression systems have also been developed to produce antibodies. Plant expression systems present several advantages, including a lack of human pathogenic agents, efficient production costs, and easy large-scale production. In this study, we generated a transgenic plant expressing anti-colorectal cancer large single chain (LSC) CO17-1AK and anti-human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) VHH-FcK mAbs by cross-pollinating plants expressing LSC CO17-1AK and anti-HER2 VHH-FcK, respectively. F1 siblings expressing both LSC CO17-1AK and anti-HER2 VHH-FcK were screened using polymerase chain reaction and Western-blot analyses. The cell enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (Cell ELISA) confirmed the binding of LSC CO17-1AK and anti-HER2 VHH-FcK to target proteins in the SW620 human colorectal cancer and the SKBR-3 human breast cancer cell lines, respectively. The wound healing assay confirmed the inhibitory activity of both antibodies against SW620 and SKBR-3 cell migration, respectively. In conclusion, both LSC CO17-1AK mAb and anti-HER2 VHH-FcK can be produced in a single plant, achieve binding activities to SW620 and SKBR-3 cancer cells, and inhibitory activity against SW620 and SKBR-3 cell migration similar to their parental antibodies, respectively.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Abbreviations

CRC:

Colorectal cancer

HC:

IgG heavy chain

HER2:

Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2

LC:

IgG light chain

LSC:

Large single chain

mAb:

Monoclonal antibody

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIT) [2021R1F1A1063869].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, 06974, South Korea

    Caiquan Jin, Yang Joo Kang, Se Ra Park & Kisung Ko

  2. Department of Pathology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 48109, USA

    Se Ra Park

  3. Department of Applied Experimental Biophysics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Linz, 4040, Austria

    Yoo Jin Oh

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  1. Caiquan Jin
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  2. Yang Joo Kang
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  4. Yoo Jin Oh
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  5. Kisung Ko
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Contributions

Conceptualization: CJ, and KK; Methodology: CJ, and YJK; Formal analysis and investigation: CJ, SRP, and YJO; Resources: SRP, and KK; Writing—original draft preparation: CJ; Writing—review and editing: CJ, and KK; Supervision: KK.

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Correspondence to Kisung Ko.

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Jin, C., Kang, Y.J., Park, S.R. et al. Production, expression, and function of dual-specific monoclonal antibodies in a single plant. Planta 259, 15 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-023-04284-z

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