Abstract
Transgenic plants are potentially safe and inexpensive vehicles to produce and mucosally deliver protective antigens. However, the application of this technology is limited by the poor response of the immune system to non-particulate, subunit vaccines. Co-delivery of therapeutic proteins with carrier proteins could increase the effectiveness of the antigen. This paper reports the ability of transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana plants to produce a fusion protein consisting of the B subunit of the Escherichia coli heat-labile enterotoxin and a 6 kDa tuberculosis antigen, the early secretory antigenic target ESAT-6. Both components of the fusion protein were detected using GM1-ganglioside-dependent enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay. This suggested the fusion protein retained both its native antigenicity and the ability to form pentamers.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 502-508 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Plant Cell Reports |
Volume | 22 |
Issue number | 7 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Feb 2004 |
Keywords
- Carrier protein
- LTB fusion protein
- Mucosal delivery
- Transgenic plants
- Tuberculosis vaccine
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Agronomy and Crop Science
- Plant Science