High-level expression of human immunodeficiency virus antigens from the tobacco and tomato plastid genomes.

Abstract

Transgene expression from the plant's plastid genome represents a promising strategy in molecular farming because of the plastid's potential to accumulate foreign proteins to high levels and the increased biosafety provided by the maternal mode of organelle inheritance. In this article, we explore the potential of transplastomic plants to produce human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) antigens as potential components of an acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) vaccine. It is shown that the HIV antigens p24 (the major target of T-cell-mediated immune responses in HIV-positive individuals) and Nef can be expressed to high levels in plastids of tobacco, a non-food crop, and tomato, a food crop with an edible fruit. Optimized p24-Nef fusion gene cassettes trigger antigen protein accumulation to up to approximately 40% of the plant's total protein, demonstrating the great potential of transgenic plastids to produce AIDS vaccine components at low cost and high yield.

• Authors: Fei Zhou, Jesus A Badillo-Corona, Daniel Karcher, Nuria Gonzalez-Rabade, Katrin Piepenburg, A-M Inka Borchers, Alan P Maloney, Tony A Kavanagh, John C Gray, Ralph Bock
• Journal: Plant biotechnology journal (Plant Biotechnol J) Vol. 6 Issue 9 Pg. 897-913 (Dec 2008) ISSN: 1467-7644 [Print] England
• PMID: 19548344 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• Genetic Markers
• HIV Antigens
• nef Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus

Topics

• Base Sequence
• Gene Expression
• Genetic Markers (genetics)
• Genetic Vectors
• Genome, Plastid
• HIV (genetics)
• HIV Antigens (genetics)
• Introns (genetics)
• Solanum lycopersicum (genetics)
• Molecular Sequence Data
• Plants, Genetically Modified (genetics)
• Recombination, Genetic
• Tobacco (genetics)
• nef Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus (genetics)