Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Novel approaches to oral vaccines: Delivery of antigens by edible plants

  • Published:
Current Infectious Disease Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Advances in genetic engineering in the past decade have accelerated the expression, in plants, of foreign proteins with industrial and pharmaceutical value. Antigens from infectious bacterial or viral diseases have been introduced into plants through plant virus-mediated infection or Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated stable transformation methods. Oral immunization with transgenic plant tissues that contain vaccine antigen proteins stimulates both systemic and mucosal immune responses in animals. Plant-based vaccines can provide significant levels of protection against challenge by viral or bacterial pathogens.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References and Recommended Reading

  1. Mason HS, Lam DM, Arntzen CJ: Expression of hepatitis B surface antigen in transgenic plants. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 1992, 89:11745–11749.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Mason HS, Arntzen CJ: Transgenic plants as vaccine production systems. Trends Biotech 1995, 13:388–392.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Ma JCK, Vine ND: Plant expression system for the production of vaccines. Curr Top Microbiol Immunol 1999, 236:275–292.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Tsafrir S, Mor KE, Miguel A, et al.: Perspective: edible vaccines—a concept coming of age. Trends Microbiol 1998, 6:449–453.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Arntzen CJ: High-tech herbal medicine: plant-based vaccines. Nat Biotech 1997, 15:221–223.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Moffat SA: Exploring transgenic plants as a new vaccine source. Science 1995, 268:658–660.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Arntzen CJ: Pharmaceutical foodstuffs—oral immunization with transgenic plants. Nat Med Vaccine Suppl 1998, 4:1–2.

    Google Scholar 

  8. McGarvey PB, Hammond J, Dienelt MM, et al.: Expression of the rabies virus glycoprotein in transgenic tomatoes. Biotechnology 1995, 13:1484–1487.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Hiatt A, Cafferkey R, Bowdish K: Production of antibodies in transgenic plants. Nature 1989, 342:76–78.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Schouten A, Roosien J, van Engelen FA, et al.: The C-terminal KDEL sequence increases the expression level of a singlechain antibody designed to be targeted to both the cytosol and the secretory pathway in transgenic tobacco. Plant Mol Biol 1996, 30:781–793.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Ma JKC, Hiatt A, Hein MB, et al.: Generation and assembly of secretory antibodies in plants. Science 1995, 268:716–719.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Beachy RN, Fitchen JH, Hein MB: Use of plant virus for delivery of vaccine epitopes. Ann N Y Acad Sci 1996, 792:43–49.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Turpen TH, Rein SJ, Charoenvit Y, et al.: Malarial epitopes expressed on the surface of recombinant tobacco mosaic virus. Biotechnology 1995, 13:53–57.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Usha R, Rohll JB, Spall VE, et al.: Expression of an animal virus antigenic site on the surface of a plant virus particle. Virology 1993, 197:366–374.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Carrillo C, Wigdorocitz A, Oliveros JC, et al.: Protective immune response to foot and mouth disease virus with VP1 expressed in transgenic plants. J Virol 1998, 72:1688–1690.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Porta C, Spall VE, Loveland J, et al.: Development of cowpea mosaic virus as a high-yielding system for the presentation of foreign peptides. Virology 1994, 202:949–955.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Dalsgaard K, Uttenthal A, Jones TD, et al.: Plant-derived vaccine protects target animals against a viral disease. Nat Biotech 1997, 15:248–252. This is the first report of a plant-derived vaccine that protects the target animal against an infectious disease.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Yusibov V, Modelska A, Steplewski K, et al.: Antigens produced in plants by infection with chimeric plant viruses immunize against rabies virus and HIV-1. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 1997, 94:5784–5788.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Curtiss R, Cardineau GA: Oral immunization by transgenic plants. In US and International patents PCT/US89/03799. 1990.

  20. Thanavala Y, Yang YF, Lyons P, et al.: Immunogenicity of transgenic plant-derived hepatitis B surface antigen. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 1995, 92:3358–3361.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Zhang RG, Scott DL, Westrook ML, et al.: The threedimensional crystal structure of cholera toxin. J Mol Biol 1995, 251:563–573.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Arakawa T, Chong DK, Merritt JL, Langridge WH: Expression of cholera toxin B subunit ologomers in transgenic potato plants. Transgenic Res 1997, 6:403–413. First-time demonstration of the assembly of cholera toxin pentamer structure in transgenic plants.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Arakawa T, Chong DK, Langridge WH: Efficacy of a food plant-based oral cholera toxin B subunit vaccine. Nat Biotech 1998, 16:292–297. This study is the first time that it has been demonstrated that a bacterial toxin produced in plants could protect mammals against the toxin by feeding the transformed plant tissues.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Lycke N, Holmgren J: Strong adjuvant properties of cholera toxin on gut mucosal immune responses to orally presented antigens. Immunology 1986, 59:301–308.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Jackson RJ, Fujihashi K, Xu-Amano J, et al.: Optimizing oral vaccines: induction of systemic and mucosal B-cell and antibody responses to tetanus toxoid by use of cholera toxin as an adjuvant. Infect Immun 1993, 61:4272–4279.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Arakawa T, Yu J, Chong DK, et al.: A plant-based cholera toxin B subunit-insulin fusion protein protects against the development of autoimmune diabetes. Nat Biotech 1998, 16:934–938. Food plants are feasible production and delivery systems for immunotolerization against autoimmune diseases.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Haq TA, Mason HS, Clements JD, Arntzen CJ: Oral immunization with a recombinant bacterial antigen produced in transgenic plants. Science 1995, 268:714–716.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Tacket CO, Mason HS, Losonsky G, et al.: Immunogenicity in humans of a recombinant bacterial antigen delivered in a transgenic potato. Nat Med 1998, 4:607–609.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Mason HS, Ball JM, Shi JJ, et al.: Expression of Norwalk virus capsid protein in transgenic tobacco and potato and its oral immunogenicity in mice. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 1996, 93:5335–5340. Virus capsid proteins can assemble into VLPs in plants that are immunogenic in mice.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Fiedler U, Conrad U: High-level production and long-term storage of engineered antibodies in transgenic tobacco seeds. Biotechnology 1995, 13:1090–1093.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Hajishengallis G, Hollingshead AK, Koga T, Russell MW: Mucosal immunization with a bacterial protein antigen genetically coupled to cholera toxin A2/B subunits. J Immunol 1995, 154:4322–4332.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Molecular Biology and Gene Therapy, Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Loma Linda University, 92359, Loma Linda, CA, USA

    Jie Yu PhD & William H. R. Langridge PhD

Authors
  1. Jie Yu PhD
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. William H. R. Langridge PhD
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Yu, J., Langridge, W.H.R. Novel approaches to oral vaccines: Delivery of antigens by edible plants. Curr Infect Dis Rep 2, 73–77 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11908-000-0091-z

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11908-000-0091-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation