Plant-based vaccine: mice immunized with chloroplast-derived anthrax protective antigen survive anthrax lethal toxin challenge.

ABSTRACT: The currently available human vaccine for anthrax, derived from the culture supernatant of Bacillus anthracis, contains the protective antigen (PA) and traces of the lethal and edema factors, which may contribute to adverse side effects associated with this vaccine. Therefore, an effective expression system that can provide a clean, safe, and efficacious vaccine is required. In an effort to produce anthrax vaccine in large quantities and free of extraneous bacterial contaminants, PA was expressed in transgenic tobacco chloroplasts by inserting the pagA gene into the chloroplast genome. Chloroplast integration of the pagA gene was confirmed by PCR and Southern analysis. Mature leaves grown under continuous illumination contained PA as up to 14.2% of the total soluble protein. Cytotoxicity m

SUBMITTER: Koya V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1307059 | biostudies-literature | 2005 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature