Bioencapsulation of the hepatitis B surface antigen and its use as an effective oral immunogen.

ABSTRACT: Hepatitis B remains a major global health problem despite the availability of a safe and effective vaccine. Segments of the population lack access to or respond poorly to the parenteral vaccine, perpetuating the infection-transmission cycle. A low cost, orally delivered vaccine has the potential to alleviate many of these problems. Here we describe the expression of a bioencapsulated hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) in maize and its immunogenicity, demonstrating for the first time a commercially feasible oral subunit vaccine production system for a major disease. This work surmounts previous barriers to plant-produced vaccines by expressing HBsAg at much higher levels and retaining antigen immunogenicity post-processing: factors which facilitated a robust immune response in mice without

SUBMITTER: Hayden CA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3322283 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature