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April Journal-2009.p65 - Association of Biotechnology and Pharmacy

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Current Trends in <strong>Biotechnology</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Pharmacy</strong><br />

Vol. 3 (2) 113-127, <strong>April</strong> 2009. ISSN 0973-8916<br />

119<br />

as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus<br />

<strong>and</strong> even rejection (8). His team contemplated<br />

that plants are ideal because they can synthesize<br />

<strong>and</strong> assemble proteins to provide huge quantities<br />

proteins at relatively low cost.<br />

Edible vaccines were first tested on humans<br />

in 1997, when scientists asked volunteers to eat<br />

anti-diarrhoea potatoes produced by the Boyce<br />

Thompson Institute at Cornell University, Ithaca,<br />

NY, USA. After consuming the potatoes<br />

volunteers produced antigens in their bodies just<br />

as if they had received a traditional anti-diarrhoeal<br />

vaccine <strong>and</strong> they experienced no adverse side<br />

effects. Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo,<br />

New York also developed edible vaccines in raw<br />

potatoes <strong>and</strong> foreign proteins (HBsIgA) can help<br />

to cure human being from Hepatitis B virus.<br />

Edible vaccines are currently being developed for<br />

a number <strong>of</strong> human <strong>and</strong> animal diseases, including<br />

measles, cholera, foot <strong>and</strong> mouth disease, <strong>and</strong><br />

hepatitis B & C. Many <strong>of</strong> these diseases are likely<br />

to require booster vaccinations or multiple antigens<br />

to induce <strong>and</strong> maintain protective immunity. Plants<br />

have the capacity to express more than one<br />

transgene, allowing delivery <strong>of</strong> multiple antigens<br />

for repeated inoculations (14). Globally, measles<br />

causes over 800,000 deaths every year (Centres<br />

for Disease Control <strong>and</strong> Prevention, 1998). Many<br />

other affected people either become deaf or are<br />

weakened by pneumonia or encephalitis. The<br />

vaccine currently available for measles has been<br />

used effectively <strong>and</strong> safely since the 1960s <strong>and</strong><br />

results in 95% seroconversion in individuals who<br />

are over the age <strong>of</strong> 18 months at the time <strong>of</strong><br />

vaccination (15). However, the measles liveattenuated<br />

vaccine (LAV) has no oral efficacy<br />

<strong>and</strong> is destroyed by heat, so that its distribution<br />

<strong>and</strong> storage are dependent on maintenance <strong>of</strong> a<br />

“cold-chain” <strong>of</strong> refrigeration. Finally, the<br />

effectiveness <strong>of</strong> the LAV is reduced by the<br />

presence <strong>of</strong> maternal antibodies (51). These<br />

limitations present a serious challenge to the goal<br />

<strong>of</strong> measles eradication.<br />

Plant Derived Edible Vaccines<br />

Development <strong>of</strong> an edible measles<br />

vaccine: The first stage in the development <strong>of</strong> an<br />

edible vaccine is selecting which antigen to<br />

express. Measles is an enveloped virus with two<br />

major surface proteins- the hemagglutinin (H) <strong>and</strong><br />

fusion proteins. Antibodies raised to the H protein<br />

after infection with the wild type measles virus<br />

(MV) have MV-neutralising activity <strong>and</strong> correlate<br />

with immunological protection (12). The H protein<br />

subunit from the attenuated Edmonston vaccine<br />

strain was therefore selected as the basis for an<br />

edible measles vaccine.<br />

Transgenic plants may be produced by a<br />

number <strong>of</strong> methods. The most common uses<br />

Agrobacterium tumefaciens, a naturally occurring<br />

soil bacterium, to transfer a small segment <strong>of</strong> DNA<br />

into the plant genome in a process known as<br />

transformation (Fig 1). Whole plants can then be<br />

regenerated from individual plant cells that have<br />

been successfully transformed. Production <strong>of</strong><br />

transgenic plants is species-dependent <strong>and</strong> can<br />

take three to nine months. By this method MV-<br />

H gene been successfully expressed in the<br />

experimental model plant tobacco (29). When<br />

given orally to mice, the transgenic plant extract<br />

containing the MV-H antigen induced serum<br />

antibodies that were able to neutralise wild type<br />

MV in vitro, showing that plant-derived MV-H<br />

protein retains its immunogenic. Secretary IgA is<br />

indicative <strong>of</strong> a mucosal immune response, which<br />

is important for protection against diseases that<br />

establish infection through mucosal surfaces such<br />

as the respiratory tract. Plant can produce a large<br />

amount <strong>of</strong> recombinant proteins for remedy <strong>of</strong><br />

different disease <strong>and</strong> act as factories (49). Needle<br />

free vaccination programme could be initiated<br />

after the development <strong>of</strong> rice based mucosal<br />

vaccine (50).Vaccines have been developed in<br />

fruit which can be used during dinner (53 <strong>and</strong> 4)<br />

<strong>and</strong> allergic <strong>and</strong> other immunotherapy could also<br />

be possible (57, 28 <strong>and</strong> 46).<br />

From model system to practical vaccine-<br />

The next challenge will be to translate this

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