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Singh JKD, Mazumdar P, Othman RY, Harikrishna JA. Adding value to banana farming: Antibody production in post-harvest leaves. J Biotechnol 2024; 387:69-78. [PMID: 38582406 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbiotec.2024.04.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2024] [Revised: 04/01/2024] [Accepted: 04/03/2024] [Indexed: 04/08/2024]
Abstract
Banana, a globally popular fruit, is widely cultivated in tropical and sub-tropical regions. After fruit harvest, remaining banana plant materials are low-value byproducts, mostly composted or used as fibre or for food packaging. As an aim to potentially increase farmer income, this study explored underutilised banana biomass as a novel plant tissue for production of a high-value product. Protein scFvTG130 used in this study, is an anti-toxoplasma single chain variable fragment antibody that can be used in diagnostics and neutralising the Toxoplasma gondii pathogen. Using detached banana leaves, we investigated the factors influencing the efficacy of a transient expression system using reporter genes and recombinant protein, scFvTG130. Transient expression was optimal at 2 days after detached banana leaves were vacuum infiltrated at 0.08 MPa vacuum pressure for a duration of 3 min with 0.01% (v/v) Tween20 using Agrobacterium strain GV3101 harbouring disarmed virus-based vector pIR-GFPscFvTG130. The highest concentration of anti-toxoplasma scFvTG130 antibody obtained using detached banana leaves was 22.8 µg/g fresh leaf tissue. This first study using detached banana leaf tissue for the transient expression of a recombinant protein, successfully demonstrated anti-toxoplasma scFvTG130 antibody expression, supporting the potential application for other related proteins using an underutilised detached banana leaf tissue.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jasdeep Kaur Darsan Singh
- Centre for Research in Biotechnology for Agriculture (CEBAR), Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia; Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia
| | - Purabi Mazumdar
- Centre for Research in Biotechnology for Agriculture (CEBAR), Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia
| | - Rofina Yasmin Othman
- Centre for Research in Biotechnology for Agriculture (CEBAR), Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia; Institute of Advanced Studies, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia
| | - Jennifer Ann Harikrishna
- Centre for Research in Biotechnology for Agriculture (CEBAR), Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia; Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia.
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2
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Chaudhary S, Ali Z, Mahfouz M. Molecular farming for sustainable production of clinical-grade antimicrobial peptides. PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL 2024. [PMID: 38685599 DOI: 10.1111/pbi.14344] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2023] [Revised: 02/26/2024] [Accepted: 03/11/2024] [Indexed: 05/02/2024]
Abstract
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are emerging as next-generation therapeutics due to their broad-spectrum activity against drug-resistant bacterial strains and their ability to eradicate biofilms, modulate immune responses, exert anti-inflammatory effects and improve disease management. They are produced through solid-phase peptide synthesis or in bacterial or yeast cells. Molecular farming, i.e. the production of biologics in plants, offers a low-cost, non-toxic, scalable and simple alternative platform to produce AMPs at a sustainable cost. In this review, we discuss the advantages of molecular farming for producing clinical-grade AMPs, advances in expression and purification systems and the cost advantage for industrial-scale production. We further review how 'green' production is filling the sustainability gap, streamlining patent and regulatory approvals and enabling successful clinical translations that demonstrate the future potential of AMPs produced by molecular farming. Finally, we discuss the regulatory challenges that need to be addressed to fully realize the potential of molecular farming-based AMP production for therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shahid Chaudhary
- Laboratory for Genome Engineering and Synthetic Biology, Division of Biological Sciences, 4700 King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - Zahir Ali
- Laboratory for Genome Engineering and Synthetic Biology, Division of Biological Sciences, 4700 King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - Magdy Mahfouz
- Laboratory for Genome Engineering and Synthetic Biology, Division of Biological Sciences, 4700 King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
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3
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Owens NA, Anborgh PH, Kolotilin I. Chromatography affinity resin with photosynthetically-sourced protein A ligand. Sci Rep 2024; 14:8714. [PMID: 38622266 PMCID: PMC11018848 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-59266-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2024] [Accepted: 04/09/2024] [Indexed: 04/17/2024] Open
Abstract
Green, photosynthesizing plants can be proficiently used as cost-effective, single-use, fully biodegradable bioreactors for environmentally-friendly production of a variety of valuable recombinant proteins. Being near-infinitely scalable and most energy-efficient in generating biomass, plants represent profoundly valid alternatives to conventionally used stationary fermenters. To validate this, we produced a plastome-engineered tobacco bioreactor line expressing a recombinant variant of the protein A from Staphylococcus aureus, an affinity ligand widely useful in antibody purification processes, reaching accumulation levels up to ~ 250 mg per 1 kg of fresh leaf biomass. Chromatography resin manufactured from photosynthetically-sourced recombinant protein A ligand conjugated to agarose beads demonstrated the innate pH-driven ability to bind and elute IgG-type antibodies and allowed one-step efficient purification of functional monoclonal antibodies from the supernatants of the producing hybridomas. The results of this study emphasize the versatility of plant-based recombinant protein production and illustrate its vast potential in reducing the cost of diverse biotechnological applications, particularly the downstream processing and purification of monoclonal antibodies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nisha A Owens
- The School of Applied Science and Technology, Fanshawe College, London, ON, Canada
| | - Pieter H Anborgh
- The School of Applied Science and Technology, Fanshawe College, London, ON, Canada
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4
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Malikova L, Malik M, Pavlik J, Ulman M, Pechouckova E, Skrivan M, Kokoska L, Tlustos P. Anti-staphylococcal activity of soilless cultivated cannabis across the whole vegetation cycle under various nutritional treatments in relation to cannabinoid content. Sci Rep 2024; 14:4343. [PMID: 38383569 PMCID: PMC10881570 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-54805-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2023] [Accepted: 02/16/2024] [Indexed: 02/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Antibiotic resistance in staphylococcal strains and its impact on public health and agriculture are global problems. The development of new anti-staphylococcal agents is an effective strategy for addressing the increasing incidence of bacterial resistance. In this study, ethanolic extracts of Cannabis sativa L. made from plant parts harvested during the whole vegetation cycle under various nutritional treatments were assessed for in vitro anti-staphylococcal effects. The results showed that all the cannabis extracts tested exhibited a certain degree of growth inhibition against bacterial strains of Staphylococcus aureus, including antibiotic-resistant and antibiotic-sensitive forms. The highest antibacterial activity of the extracts was observed from the 5th to the 13th week of plant growth across all the nutritional treatments tested, with minimum inhibitory concentrations ranging from 32 to 64 µg/mL. Using HPLC, Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA) was identified as the most abundant cannabinoid in the ethanolic extracts. A homolog of THCA, tetrahydrocannabivarinic acid (THCVA), reduced bacterial growth by 74%. These findings suggest that the cannabis extracts tested in this study can be used for the development of new anti-staphylococcal compounds with improved efficacy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucie Malikova
- Department of Microbiology, Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, 165 00, Prague-Suchdol, Czech Republic.
- Department of Nutritional Physiology and Animal Product Quality, Institute of Animal Science, 104 00, Prague-Uhrineves, Czech Republic.
| | - Matej Malik
- Department of Agroenvironmental Chemistry and Plant Nutrition, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, 165 00, Prague-Suchdol, Czech Republic
| | - Jan Pavlik
- Department of Information Technologies, Faculty of Economics and Management, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, 165 00, Prague-Suchdol, Czech Republic
| | - Milos Ulman
- Department of Information Technologies, Faculty of Economics and Management, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, 165 00, Prague-Suchdol, Czech Republic
| | - Eva Pechouckova
- Department of Microbiology, Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, 165 00, Prague-Suchdol, Czech Republic
- Department of Nutritional Physiology and Animal Product Quality, Institute of Animal Science, 104 00, Prague-Uhrineves, Czech Republic
| | - Milos Skrivan
- Department of Nutritional Physiology and Animal Product Quality, Institute of Animal Science, 104 00, Prague-Uhrineves, Czech Republic
| | - Ladislav Kokoska
- Department of Crop Science and Agroforestry, Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, 165 00, Prague-Suchdol, Czech Republic
| | - Pavel Tlustos
- Department of Agroenvironmental Chemistry and Plant Nutrition, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, 165 00, Prague-Suchdol, Czech Republic
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5
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Parthiban S, Vijeesh T, Gayathri T, Shanmugaraj B, Sharma A, Sathishkumar R. Artificial intelligence-driven systems engineering for next-generation plant-derived biopharmaceuticals. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2023; 14:1252166. [PMID: 38034587 PMCID: PMC10684705 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1252166] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2023] [Accepted: 10/17/2023] [Indexed: 12/02/2023]
Abstract
Recombinant biopharmaceuticals including antigens, antibodies, hormones, cytokines, single-chain variable fragments, and peptides have been used as vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics. Plant molecular pharming is a robust platform that uses plants as an expression system to produce simple and complex recombinant biopharmaceuticals on a large scale. Plant system has several advantages over other host systems such as humanized expression, glycosylation, scalability, reduced risk of human or animal pathogenic contaminants, rapid and cost-effective production. Despite many advantages, the expression of recombinant proteins in plant system is hindered by some factors such as non-human post-translational modifications, protein misfolding, conformation changes and instability. Artificial intelligence (AI) plays a vital role in various fields of biotechnology and in the aspect of plant molecular pharming, a significant increase in yield and stability can be achieved with the intervention of AI-based multi-approach to overcome the hindrance factors. Current limitations of plant-based recombinant biopharmaceutical production can be circumvented with the aid of synthetic biology tools and AI algorithms in plant-based glycan engineering for protein folding, stability, viability, catalytic activity and organelle targeting. The AI models, including but not limited to, neural network, support vector machines, linear regression, Gaussian process and regressor ensemble, work by predicting the training and experimental data sets to design and validate the protein structures thereby optimizing properties such as thermostability, catalytic activity, antibody affinity, and protein folding. This review focuses on, integrating systems engineering approaches and AI-based machine learning and deep learning algorithms in protein engineering and host engineering to augment protein production in plant systems to meet the ever-expanding therapeutics market.
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Affiliation(s)
- Subramanian Parthiban
- Plant Genetic Engineering Laboratory, Department of Biotechnology, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, India
| | - Thandarvalli Vijeesh
- Plant Genetic Engineering Laboratory, Department of Biotechnology, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, India
| | - Thashanamoorthi Gayathri
- Plant Genetic Engineering Laboratory, Department of Biotechnology, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, India
| | - Balamurugan Shanmugaraj
- Plant Genetic Engineering Laboratory, Department of Biotechnology, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, India
| | - Ashutosh Sharma
- Tecnologico de Monterrey, School of Engineering and Sciences, Centre of Bioengineering, Queretaro, Mexico
| | - Ramalingam Sathishkumar
- Plant Genetic Engineering Laboratory, Department of Biotechnology, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, India
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6
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Shcherbak N, Prochaska H, Lystvan K, Prokhorova Y, Giritch A, Kuchuk M. Accumulation of colicin M protein and its biological activity in transgenic lettuce and mizuna plants. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2023; 14:1271757. [PMID: 37936936 PMCID: PMC10627015 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1271757] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2023] [Accepted: 10/02/2023] [Indexed: 11/09/2023]
Abstract
Food-borne illnesses caused by pathogenic Escherichia coli strains, especially enterohaemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC), are a serious public health problem, as debilitating disease and even death from such food poisonings have been repeatedly reported. Colicin M (ColM), a non-antibiotic antimicrobial protein produced by some strains of E. coli, has shown promising activity in controlling multiple enteropathogenic strains of E. coli and related pathogens. As contaminated green leafy vegetables are a frequent source of pathogenic E. coli infections, we genetically modified (GM) two edible crops, lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) and mizuna (Brassica rapa subsp. nipposinica var. laciniata), to stably express the ColM gene and assessed the antibacterial activity of tissue extracts from these plants against selected E. coli strains in vitro. Transgenic plants of these species were developed using Agrobacterium-mediated transformation with a vector containing the ColM-coding gene (cma) under the control of the 35S promoter. Western blot analysis of recombinant ColM protein was performed in selected transgenic plants to confirm cma gene expression and quantify ColM accumulation. Extracts of transgenic plants expressing ColM showed significant activity against two major strains of EHEC (O157:H7 and O104:H4) as well as E. coli strains resistant to beta-lactam- and carbapenem-class antibiotics. Importantly, the antibacterial activity persisted in several subsequent generations of transgenic lettuce and mizuna plants that stably expressed the ColM gene. In addition, our results also show that the antibacterial activity of dried (up to 40°C) biomass of transgenic plants remained stable without a decrease for at least three months.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nataliia Shcherbak
- Department of Genetic Engineering, Institute of Cell Biology and Genetic Engineering of National Academy of Sciences (NAS) of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine
| | | | - Kateryna Lystvan
- Department of Genetic Engineering, Institute of Cell Biology and Genetic Engineering of National Academy of Sciences (NAS) of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine
| | - Yelizaveta Prokhorova
- Department of Genetic Engineering, Institute of Cell Biology and Genetic Engineering of National Academy of Sciences (NAS) of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine
| | | | - Mykola Kuchuk
- Department of Genetic Engineering, Institute of Cell Biology and Genetic Engineering of National Academy of Sciences (NAS) of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine
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7
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Tang R, Tan H, Dai Y, Li L, Huang Y, Yao H, Cai Y, Yu G. Application of antimicrobial peptides in plant protection: making use of the overlooked merits. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2023; 14:1139539. [PMID: 37538059 PMCID: PMC10394246 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1139539] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2023] [Accepted: 04/07/2023] [Indexed: 08/05/2023]
Abstract
Pathogen infection is one of the major causes of yield loss in the crop field. The rapid increase of antimicrobial resistance in plant pathogens has urged researchers to develop both new pesticides and management strategies for plant protection. The antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) showed potential on eliminating plant pathogenic fungi and bacteria. Here, we first summarize several overlooked advantages and merits of AMPs, which includes the steep dose-response relations, fast killing ability, broad synergism, slow resistance selection. We then discuss the possible application of AMPs for plant protection with above merits, and highlight how AMPs can be incorporated into a more efficient integrated management system that both increases the crop yield and reduce resistance evolution of pathogens.
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8
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Knödler M, Opdensteinen P, Sankaranarayanan RA, Morgenroth A, Buhl EM, Mottaghy FM, Buyel JF. Simple plant-based production and purification of the assembled human ferritin heavy chain as a nanocarrier for tumor-targeted drug delivery and bioimaging in cancer therapy. Biotechnol Bioeng 2023; 120:1038-1054. [PMID: 36539373 DOI: 10.1002/bit.28312] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2022] [Revised: 12/06/2022] [Accepted: 12/18/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Nanoparticles are used as carriers for the delivery of drugs and imaging agents. Proteins are safer than synthetic nanocarriers due to their greater biocompatibility and the absence of toxic degradation products. In this context, ferritin has the additional benefit of inherently targeting the membrane receptor transferrin 1, which is overexpressed by most cancer cells. Furthermore, this self-assembling multimeric protein can be loaded with more than 2000 iron atoms, as well as drugs, contrast agents, and other cargos. However, recombinant ferritin currently costs ~3.5 million € g-1 , presumably because the limited number of producers cannot meet demand, making it generally unaffordable as a nanocarrier. Because plants can produce proteins at very-large-scale, we developed a simple, proof-of-concept process for the production of the human ferritin heavy chain by transient expression in Nicotiana benthamiana. We optimized the protein yields by screening different compartments and 5'-untranslated regions in PCPs, and selected the best-performing construct for production in differentiated plants. We then established a rapid and scalable purification protocol by combining pH and heat treatment before extraction, followed by an ultrafiltration/diafiltration size-based separation process. The optimized process achieved ferritin levels of ~40 mg kg-1 fresh biomass although depth filtration limited product recovery to ~7%. The purity of the recombinant product was >90% at costs ~3% of the current sales price. Our method therefore allows the production of affordable ferritin heavy chain as a carrier for therapeutic and diagnostic agents, which is suitable for further stability and functionality testing in vitro and in vivo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthias Knödler
- Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME, Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e. V., Aachen, Germany
- Institute for Molecular Biotechnology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Patrick Opdensteinen
- Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME, Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e. V., Aachen, Germany
- Institute for Molecular Biotechnology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | | | - Agnieszka Morgenroth
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Aachen, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Eva Miriam Buhl
- Electron Microscopy Facility, Institute for Pathology, University Hospital Aachen, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Felix M Mottaghy
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Aachen, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
- Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Maastricht University Medical Center (MUMC+), Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Johannes Felix Buyel
- Institute for Molecular Biotechnology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
- Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Institute of Bioprocess Science and Engineering (IBSE), University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU), Vienna, Austria
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9
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Kolotilin I. Plant-produced recombinant cytokines IL-37b and IL-38 modulate inflammatory response from stimulated human PBMCs. Sci Rep 2022; 12:19450. [PMID: 36376518 PMCID: PMC9663505 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-23828-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2022] [Accepted: 11/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Affordable therapeutics are vitally needed for humans worldwide. Plant-based production of recombinant proteins can potentially enhance, back-up, or even substitute for the manufacturing capacity of the conventional, fermenter-based technologies. We plastome-engineered a tobacco cultivar to express high levels of two "plantakines" - recombinant human cytokines, interleukins IL-37b and IL-38, and confirmed their native conformation and folding. Assessment of their biological functionality was performed ex vivo by analyzing the effects exerted by the plantakines on levels of 11 cytokines secreted from human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) challenged with an inflammatory agent. Application of the plant-produced IL-37b and IL-38 in PBMCs stimulated with Lipopolysaccharide or Phytohaemagglutinin resulted in significant, and in particular cases-dose-dependent modulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines secretion, showing attenuation in two-thirds of significant level modulations observed. Plantakine treatments that increased inflammatory responses were associated with the higher dosage. Our results demonstrate feasibility of manufacturing functional recombinant human proteins using scalable, cost-effective and eco-friendly plant-based bioreactors.
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10
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Feng Z, Li X, Fan B, Zhu C, Chen Z. Maximizing the Production of Recombinant Proteins in Plants: From Transcription to Protein Stability. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:13516. [PMID: 36362299 PMCID: PMC9659199 DOI: 10.3390/ijms232113516] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2022] [Revised: 10/31/2022] [Accepted: 11/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The production of therapeutic and industrial recombinant proteins in plants has advantages over established bacterial and mammalian systems in terms of cost, scalability, growth conditions, and product safety. In order to compete with these conventional expression systems, however, plant expression platforms must have additional economic advantages by demonstrating a high protein production yield with consistent quality. Over the past decades, important progress has been made in developing strategies to increase the yield of recombinant proteins in plants by enhancing their expression and reducing their degradation. Unlike bacterial and animal systems, plant expression systems can utilize not only cell cultures but also whole plants for the production of recombinant proteins. The development of viral vectors and chloroplast transformation has opened new strategies to drastically increase the yield of recombinant proteins from plants. The identification of promoters for strong, constitutive, and inducible promoters or the tissue-specific expression of transgenes allows for the production of recombinant proteins at high levels and for special purposes. Advances in the understanding of RNAi have led to effective strategies for reducing gene silencing and increasing recombinant protein production. An increased understanding of protein translation, quality control, trafficking, and degradation has also helped with the development of approaches to enhance the synthesis and stability of recombinant proteins in plants. In this review, we discuss the progress in understanding the processes that control the synthesis and degradation of gene transcripts and proteins, which underlie a variety of developed strategies aimed at maximizing recombinant protein production in plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ziru Feng
- College of Life Sciences, China Jiliang University, Hangzhou 310018, China
| | - Xifeng Li
- College of Life Sciences, China Jiliang University, Hangzhou 310018, China
| | - Baofang Fan
- Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Purdue Center for Plant Biology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2054, USA
| | - Cheng Zhu
- College of Life Sciences, China Jiliang University, Hangzhou 310018, China
| | - Zhixiang Chen
- College of Life Sciences, China Jiliang University, Hangzhou 310018, China
- Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Purdue Center for Plant Biology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2054, USA
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11
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Abstract
The idea of producing vaccines in plants originated in the late 1980s. Initially, it was contemplated that this notion could facilitate the concept of edible vaccines, making them more cost effective and easily accessible. Initial studies on edible vaccines focussed on the use of a variety of different transgenic plant host species for the production of vaccine antigens. However, adequate expression levels of antigens, the difficulties predicted with administration of consistent doses, and regulatory rules required for growth of transgenic plants gave way to the development of vaccine candidates that could be purified and administered parenterally. The field has subsequently advanced with improved expression techniques including a shift from using transgenic to transient expression of antigens, refinement of purification protocols, a deeper understanding of the biological processes and a wealth of evidence of immunogenicity and efficacy of plant-produced vaccine candidates, all contributing to the successful practice of what is now known as biopharming or plant molecular farming. The establishment of this technology has resulted in the development of many different types of vaccine candidates including subunit vaccines and various different types of nanoparticle vaccines targeting a wide variety of bacterial and viral diseases. This has brought further acceptance of plants as a suitable platform for vaccine production and in this review, we discuss the most recent advances in the production of vaccines in plants for human use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer Stander
- Biopharming Research Unit, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, Cape Town, 7700, South Africa
| | - Sandiswa Mbewana
- Biopharming Research Unit, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, Cape Town, 7700, South Africa
| | - Ann E Meyers
- Biopharming Research Unit, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, Cape Town, 7700, South Africa.
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12
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Opdensteinen P, Buyel JF. Reducing water uptake into BY-2 cells by systematically optimizing the cultivation parameters increases product yields achieved by transient expression in plant cell packs. Biotechnol J 2022; 17:e2200134. [PMID: 35762355 DOI: 10.1002/biot.202200134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2022] [Revised: 06/21/2022] [Accepted: 06/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Plant-based production systems are inexpensive and easy to handle, allowing them to complement existing platforms for the production of protein-based vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostic reagents. However, screening product candidates in whole plants requires a large facility footprint and is challenging due to natural variations in recombinant protein accumulation. In contrast, plant cell packs (PCPs) allow more than 1000 samples to be screened per day in microtiter plates. PCPs enable rapid development cycles based on transient expression in as little as 3 days, and yield milligram quantities of product for initial quality assessment and functional testing. However, this requires high-level expression in BY-2 cells and consistent cell quality across batches. We therefore used a statistical design of experiments (DoE) approach to systematically assess factors that contribute to consistent high yields of recombinant proteins in PCPs. Specifically, we tested the osmolality, pH, carbon source, light source and additives during cell cultivation, as well as cell and PCP harvest times. The careful adjustment of these factors increased overall productivity by approximately fourfold. Remarkably all cultivation conditions leading to high productivities during transient expression in PCPs were associated with limited water uptake into the central vacuole. The universal presence of a vacuole in plant cells indicates that our results should be transferrable to other cells lines. Our findings therefore support the broad application of PCPs for screening and product analysis during the development of protein-based pharmaceuticals and reagents in plants. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
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Affiliation(s)
- P Opdensteinen
- Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME, Forckenbeckstrasse 6, 52074, Aachen, Germany.,Institute for Molecular Biotechnology, RWTH Aachen University, Worringerweg 1, 52074, Aachen, Germany
| | - J F Buyel
- Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME, Forckenbeckstrasse 6, 52074, Aachen, Germany.,Institute for Molecular Biotechnology, RWTH Aachen University, Worringerweg 1, 52074, Aachen, Germany
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13
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Uvarova EA, Belavin PA, Deineko EV. Design and assembly of plant-based COVID-19 candidate vaccines: reсent development and future prospects. Vavilovskii Zhurnal Genet Selektsii 2022; 26:327-335. [PMID: 35795227 PMCID: PMC9177425 DOI: 10.18699/vjgb-22-39] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2021] [Revised: 11/08/2021] [Accepted: 11/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
An outbreak of a new variant of the coronavirus infection, known as COVID-19, occurred at the end of 2019 in China, in the city of Wuhan. It was caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. This variant of the virus is characterized by a high degree of variability and, as the current situation with its spread across different regions of the globe shows, it can lead to a progressive spread of infection among the human population and become the cause of a pandemic. The world scientific community is making tremendous efforts to develop means of protection,prevention and treatment of this disease based on modern advances in molecular biology, immunology and
vaccinology. This review provides information on the current state of research in the field of vaccine development
against COVID-19 with an emphasis on the role of plants in solving this complex problem. Although plants have
long been used by mankind as sources of various medicinal substances, in a pandemic, plant expression systems
become attractive as biofactories or bioreactors for the production of artificially created protein molecules
that include protective antigens against viral infection. The design and creation of such artificial molecules
underlies the development of recombinant subunit vaccines aimed at a rapid response against the spread of
infections with a high degree of variability. The review presents the state of research covering a period of just
over two years, i. e. since the emergence of the new outbreak of coronavirus infection. The authors tried to
emphasize the importance of rapid response of research groups from various scientific fields towards the use
of existing developments to create means of protection against various pathogens. With two plant expression
systems – stable and transient – as examples, the development of work on the creation of recombinant subunit
vaccines against COVID-19 in various laboratories and commercial companies is shown. The authors emphasize
that plant expression systems have promise for the development of not only protective means under conditions
of rapid response (subunit vaccines), but also therapeutic agents in the form of monoclonal antibodies against
COVID-19 synthesized in plant cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- E. A. Uvarova
- Institute of Cytology and Genetics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences
| | - P. A. Belavin
- Institute of Cytology and Genetics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences
| | - E. V. Deineko
- Institute of Cytology and Genetics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences; Tomsk State University
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14
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McNulty MJ, Nandi S, McDonald KA. Technoeconomic Modeling and Simulation for Plant-Based Manufacturing of Recombinant Proteins. Methods Mol Biol 2022; 2480:159-189. [PMID: 35616864 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-2241-4_11] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Technoeconomic modeling and simulation is a critical step in defining a manufacturing process for evaluation of commercial viability and to focus experimental process research and development efforts. Technoeconomic analysis (TEA) is increasingly demanded alongside scientific innovation by both public and private funding agencies to maximize efficiency of resource allocation. It is particularly important for plant-based manufacturing, and other nontraditional recombinant protein production platforms, to explicitly demonstrate the manufacturing potential and to identify critical technical and economic challenges through robust technoeconomic analysis. In addition, in silico process modeling and TEA of scaled biomanufacturing facilities allows rapid evaluation of the impacts of process and economic changes on capital expenditures (CAPEX, also sometimes referred to as total capital investment), operational expenditures (OPEX, also known as total manufacturing costs or total production costs), cost of goods sold (COGS, also known as unit production costs), and profitability metrics such as net present value (NPV) and discounted cash flow rate of return (DCROR, also known as internal rate of return or IRR). These models can also be used to assess environmental, health, and safety impact of a designed biomanufacturing facility to evaluate its sustainability and environmental-friendliness. Here we describe a general method for performing technoeconomic modeling and simulation for and environmental assessment of plant-based manufacturing of recombinant proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew J McNulty
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Somen Nandi
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
- Global HealthShare Initiative, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Karen A McDonald
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, Davis, CA, USA.
- Global HealthShare Initiative, University of California, Davis, CA, USA.
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15
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Lobato Gómez M, Huang X, Alvarez D, He W, Baysal C, Zhu C, Armario‐Najera V, Blanco Perera A, Cerda Bennasser P, Saba‐Mayoral A, Sobrino‐Mengual G, Vargheese A, Abranches R, Abreu IA, Balamurugan S, Bock R, Buyel J, da Cunha NB, Daniell H, Faller R, Folgado A, Gowtham I, Häkkinen ST, Kumar S, Ramalingam SK, Lacorte C, Lomonossoff GP, Luís IM, Ma JK, McDonald KA, Murad A, Nandi S, O’Keefe B, Oksman‐Caldentey K, Parthiban S, Paul MJ, Ponndorf D, Rech E, Rodrigues JCM, Ruf S, Schillberg S, Schwestka J, Shah PS, Singh R, Stoger E, Twyman RM, Varghese IP, Vianna GR, Webster G, Wilbers RHP, Capell T, Christou P. Contributions of the international plant science community to the fight against human infectious diseases - part 1: epidemic and pandemic diseases. PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL 2021; 19:1901-1920. [PMID: 34182608 PMCID: PMC8486245 DOI: 10.1111/pbi.13657] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2021] [Revised: 06/10/2021] [Accepted: 06/22/2021] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Infectious diseases, also known as transmissible or communicable diseases, are caused by pathogens or parasites that spread in communities by direct contact with infected individuals or contaminated materials, through droplets and aerosols, or via vectors such as insects. Such diseases cause ˜17% of all human deaths and their management and control places an immense burden on healthcare systems worldwide. Traditional approaches for the prevention and control of infectious diseases include vaccination programmes, hygiene measures and drugs that suppress the pathogen, treat the disease symptoms or attenuate aggressive reactions of the host immune system. The provision of vaccines and biologic drugs such as antibodies is hampered by the high cost and limited scalability of traditional manufacturing platforms based on microbial and animal cells, particularly in developing countries where infectious diseases are prevalent and poorly controlled. Molecular farming, which uses plants for protein expression, is a promising strategy to address the drawbacks of current manufacturing platforms. In this review article, we consider the potential of molecular farming to address healthcare demands for the most prevalent and important epidemic and pandemic diseases, focussing on recent outbreaks of high-mortality coronavirus infections and diseases that disproportionately affect the developing world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Lobato Gómez
- Department of Crop and Forest SciencesUniversity of Lleida‐Agrotecnio CERCA CenterLleidaSpain
| | - Xin Huang
- Department of Crop and Forest SciencesUniversity of Lleida‐Agrotecnio CERCA CenterLleidaSpain
| | - Derry Alvarez
- Department of Crop and Forest SciencesUniversity of Lleida‐Agrotecnio CERCA CenterLleidaSpain
| | - Wenshu He
- Department of Crop and Forest SciencesUniversity of Lleida‐Agrotecnio CERCA CenterLleidaSpain
| | - Can Baysal
- Department of Crop and Forest SciencesUniversity of Lleida‐Agrotecnio CERCA CenterLleidaSpain
| | - Changfu Zhu
- Department of Crop and Forest SciencesUniversity of Lleida‐Agrotecnio CERCA CenterLleidaSpain
| | - Victoria Armario‐Najera
- Department of Crop and Forest SciencesUniversity of Lleida‐Agrotecnio CERCA CenterLleidaSpain
| | - Amaya Blanco Perera
- Department of Crop and Forest SciencesUniversity of Lleida‐Agrotecnio CERCA CenterLleidaSpain
| | - Pedro Cerda Bennasser
- Department of Crop and Forest SciencesUniversity of Lleida‐Agrotecnio CERCA CenterLleidaSpain
| | - Andera Saba‐Mayoral
- Department of Crop and Forest SciencesUniversity of Lleida‐Agrotecnio CERCA CenterLleidaSpain
| | | | - Ashwin Vargheese
- Department of Crop and Forest SciencesUniversity of Lleida‐Agrotecnio CERCA CenterLleidaSpain
| | - Rita Abranches
- Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António XavierUniversidade Nova de LisboaOeirasPortugal
| | - Isabel Alexandra Abreu
- Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António XavierUniversidade Nova de LisboaOeirasPortugal
| | - Shanmugaraj Balamurugan
- Plant Genetic Engineering LaboratoryDepartment of BiotechnologyBharathiar UniversityCoimbatoreIndia
| | - Ralph Bock
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant PhysiologyPotsdam‐GolmGermany
| | - Johannes.F. Buyel
- Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IMEAachenGermany
- Institute for Molecular BiotechnologyRWTH Aachen UniversityAachenGermany
| | - Nicolau B. da Cunha
- Centro de Análise Proteômicas e Bioquímicas de BrasíliaUniversidade Católica de BrasíliaBrasíliaBrazil
| | - Henry Daniell
- School of Dental MedicineUniversity of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphiaPAUSA
| | - Roland Faller
- Department of Chemical EngineeringUniversity of California, DavisDavisCAUSA
| | - André Folgado
- Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António XavierUniversidade Nova de LisboaOeirasPortugal
| | - Iyappan Gowtham
- Plant Genetic Engineering LaboratoryDepartment of BiotechnologyBharathiar UniversityCoimbatoreIndia
| | - Suvi T. Häkkinen
- Industrial Biotechnology and Food SolutionsVTT Technical Research Centre of Finland LtdEspooFinland
| | - Shashi Kumar
- International Centre for Genetic Engineering and BiotechnologyNew DelhiIndia
| | - Sathish Kumar Ramalingam
- Plant Genetic Engineering LaboratoryDepartment of BiotechnologyBharathiar UniversityCoimbatoreIndia
| | - Cristiano Lacorte
- Brazilian Agriculture Research CorporationEmbrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology and National Institute of Science and Technology Synthetic in BiologyParque Estação BiológicaBrasiliaBrazil
| | | | - Ines M. Luís
- Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António XavierUniversidade Nova de LisboaOeirasPortugal
| | - Julian K.‐C. Ma
- Institute for Infection and ImmunitySt. George’s University of LondonLondonUK
| | - Karen. A. McDonald
- Department of Chemical EngineeringUniversity of California, DavisDavisCAUSA
- Global HealthShare InitiativeUniversity of California, DavisDavisCAUSA
| | - Andre Murad
- Brazilian Agriculture Research CorporationEmbrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology and National Institute of Science and Technology Synthetic in BiologyParque Estação BiológicaBrasiliaBrazil
| | - Somen Nandi
- Department of Chemical EngineeringUniversity of California, DavisDavisCAUSA
- Global HealthShare InitiativeUniversity of California, DavisDavisCAUSA
| | - Barry O’Keefe
- Molecular Targets ProgramCenter for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, and Natural Products BranchDevelopmental Therapeutics ProgramDivision of Cancer Treatment and DiagnosisNational Cancer Institute, NIHFrederickMDUSA
| | | | - Subramanian Parthiban
- Plant Genetic Engineering LaboratoryDepartment of BiotechnologyBharathiar UniversityCoimbatoreIndia
| | - Mathew J. Paul
- Institute for Infection and ImmunitySt. George’s University of LondonLondonUK
| | - Daniel Ponndorf
- Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António XavierUniversidade Nova de LisboaOeirasPortugal
- Department of Biological ChemistryJohn Innes CentreNorwichUK
| | - Elibio Rech
- Brazilian Agriculture Research CorporationEmbrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology and National Institute of Science and Technology Synthetic in BiologyParque Estação BiológicaBrasiliaBrazil
| | - Julio C. M. Rodrigues
- Brazilian Agriculture Research CorporationEmbrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology and National Institute of Science and Technology Synthetic in BiologyParque Estação BiológicaBrasiliaBrazil
| | - Stephanie Ruf
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant PhysiologyPotsdam‐GolmGermany
| | - Stefan Schillberg
- Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IMEAachenGermany
- Institute for PhytopathologyJustus‐Liebig‐University GiessenGiessenGermany
| | - Jennifer Schwestka
- Institute of Plant Biotechnology and Cell BiologyUniversity of Natural Resources and Life SciencesViennaAustria
| | - Priya S. Shah
- Department of Chemical EngineeringUniversity of California, DavisDavisCAUSA
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular GeneticsUniversity of California, DavisDavisCAUSA
| | - Rahul Singh
- School of Dental MedicineUniversity of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphiaPAUSA
| | - Eva Stoger
- Institute of Plant Biotechnology and Cell BiologyUniversity of Natural Resources and Life SciencesViennaAustria
| | | | - Inchakalody P. Varghese
- Plant Genetic Engineering LaboratoryDepartment of BiotechnologyBharathiar UniversityCoimbatoreIndia
| | - Giovanni R. Vianna
- Brazilian Agriculture Research CorporationEmbrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology and National Institute of Science and Technology Synthetic in BiologyParque Estação BiológicaBrasiliaBrazil
| | - Gina Webster
- Institute for Infection and ImmunitySt. George’s University of LondonLondonUK
| | - Ruud H. P. Wilbers
- Laboratory of NematologyPlant Sciences GroupWageningen University and ResearchWageningenThe Netherlands
| | - Teresa Capell
- Department of Crop and Forest SciencesUniversity of Lleida‐Agrotecnio CERCA CenterLleidaSpain
| | - Paul Christou
- Department of Crop and Forest SciencesUniversity of Lleida‐Agrotecnio CERCA CenterLleidaSpain
- ICREACatalan Institute for Research and Advanced StudiesBarcelonaSpain
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16
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Chai R, Rooney WM, Milner JJ, Walker D. Challenges of using protein antibiotics for pathogen control. PEST MANAGEMENT SCIENCE 2021; 77:3836-3840. [PMID: 33527621 DOI: 10.1002/ps.6312] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2020] [Revised: 01/18/2021] [Accepted: 02/02/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Bacterial phytopathogens represent a significant threat to many economically important crops. Current control measures often inflict harm on the environment and may ultimately impact on human health through the spread of antibiotic resistance. Antimicrobial proteins such as bacteriocins have been suggested as the next generation of disease control agents since they are able to specifically target the pathogen of interest with minimal impact on the wider microbial community and environment. However, substantial gaps in knowledge with regards to the efficacy and application of bacteriocins to combat phytopathogenic bacteria remain. Here we highlight the immediate challenges the community must address to ensure maximum exploitation of antimicrobial proteins in the field. © 2021 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ray Chai
- College of Medical, Veterinary & Life Sciences, Institute of Infection, Immunity & Inflammation, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - William M Rooney
- College of Medical, Veterinary & Life Sciences, Institute of Infection, Immunity & Inflammation, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
- Plant Science Group, College of Molecular, Veterinary & Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - Joel J Milner
- Plant Science Group, College of Molecular, Veterinary & Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - Daniel Walker
- College of Medical, Veterinary & Life Sciences, Institute of Infection, Immunity & Inflammation, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
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17
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McNulty MJ, Kelada K, Paul D, Nandi S, McDonald KA. Introducing uncertainty quantification to techno-economic models of manufacturing field-grown plant-made products. FOOD AND BIOPRODUCTS PROCESSING 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.fbp.2021.04.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
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18
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Moore CM, Grandits M, Grünwald-Gruber C, Altmann F, Kotouckova M, Teh AYH, Ma JKC. Characterisation of a highly potent and near pan-neutralising anti-HIV monoclonal antibody expressed in tobacco plants. Retrovirology 2021; 18:17. [PMID: 34183026 PMCID: PMC8240387 DOI: 10.1186/s12977-021-00560-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2020] [Accepted: 06/09/2021] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND HIV remains one of the most important health issues worldwide, with almost 40 million people living with HIV. Although patients develop antibodies against the virus, its high mutation rate allows evasion of immune responses. Some patients, however, produce antibodies that are able to bind to, and neutralise different strains of HIV. One such 'broadly neutralising' antibody is 'N6'. Identified in 2016, N6 can neutralise 98% of HIV-1 isolates with a median IC50 of 0.066 µg/mL. This neutralisation breadth makes N6 a very promising therapeutic candidate. RESULTS N6 was expressed in a glycoengineered line of N. benthamiana plants (pN6) and compared to the mammalian cell-expressed equivalent (mN6). Expression at 49 mg/kg (fresh leaf tissue) was achieved in plants, although extraction and purification are more challenging than for most plant-expressed antibodies. N-glycoanalysis demonstrated the absence of xylosylation and a reduction in α(1,3)-fucosylation that are typically found in plant glycoproteins. The N6 light chain contains a potential N-glycosylation site, which was modified and displayed more α(1,3)-fucose than the heavy chain. The binding kinetics of pN6 and mN6, measured by surface plasmon resonance, were similar for HIV gp120. pN6 had a tenfold higher affinity for FcγRIIIa, which was reflected in an antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity assay, where pN6 induced a more potent response from effector cells than that of mN6. pN6 demonstrated the same potency and breadth of neutralisation as mN6, against a panel of HIV strains. CONCLUSIONS The successful expression of N6 in tobacco supports the prospect of developing a low-cost, low-tech production platform for a monoclonal antibody cocktail to control HIV in low-to middle income countries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catherine M. Moore
- Hotung Molecular Immunology Unit, Institute for Infection & Immunity, St George’s University of London, Cranmer Terrace, London, SW17 0RE UK
| | - Melanie Grandits
- Hotung Molecular Immunology Unit, Institute for Infection & Immunity, St George’s University of London, Cranmer Terrace, London, SW17 0RE UK
| | - Clemens Grünwald-Gruber
- Department of Chemistry, University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Friedrich Altmann
- Department of Chemistry, University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Maria Kotouckova
- Hotung Molecular Immunology Unit, Institute for Infection & Immunity, St George’s University of London, Cranmer Terrace, London, SW17 0RE UK
| | - Audrey Y.-H. Teh
- Hotung Molecular Immunology Unit, Institute for Infection & Immunity, St George’s University of London, Cranmer Terrace, London, SW17 0RE UK
| | - Julian K.-C. Ma
- Hotung Molecular Immunology Unit, Institute for Infection & Immunity, St George’s University of London, Cranmer Terrace, London, SW17 0RE UK
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19
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Kelada KD, Tusé D, Gleba Y, McDonald KA, Nandi S. Process Simulation and Techno-Economic Analysis of Large-Scale Bioproduction of Sweet Protein Thaumatin II. Foods 2021; 10:838. [PMID: 33921374 PMCID: PMC8069865 DOI: 10.3390/foods10040838] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2021] [Accepted: 04/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
There are currently worldwide efforts to reduce sugar intake due to the various adverse health effects linked with the overconsumption of sugars. Artificial sweeteners have been used as an alternative to nutritive sugars in numerous applications; however, their long-term effects on human health remain controversial. This led to a shift in consumer preference towards non-caloric sweeteners from natural sources. Thaumatins are a class of intensely sweet proteins found in arils of the fruits of the West-African plant Thaumatococcus daniellii. Thaumatins' current production method through aqueous extraction from this plant and uncertainty of the harvest from tropical rainforests limits its supply while the demand is increasing. Despite successful recombinant expression of the protein in several organisms, no large-scale bioproduction facilities exist. We present preliminary process design, process simulation, and economic analysis for a large-scale (50 metric tons/year) production of a thaumatin II variant using several different molecular farming platforms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kirolos D. Kelada
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA; (K.D.K.); (K.A.M.)
| | - Daniel Tusé
- DT/Consulting Group, Sacramento, CA 95818, USA;
| | - Yuri Gleba
- Nomad Bioscience GmbH, 06120 Halle, Germany;
| | - Karen A. McDonald
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA; (K.D.K.); (K.A.M.)
- Global HealthShare® Initiative, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Somen Nandi
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA; (K.D.K.); (K.A.M.)
- Global HealthShare® Initiative, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
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20
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Buyel JF, Stöger E, Bortesi L. Targeted genome editing of plants and plant cells for biomanufacturing. Transgenic Res 2021; 30:401-426. [PMID: 33646510 PMCID: PMC8316201 DOI: 10.1007/s11248-021-00236-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2020] [Accepted: 02/03/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Plants have provided humans with useful products since antiquity, but in the last 30 years they have also been developed as production platforms for small molecules and recombinant proteins. This initially niche area has blossomed with the growth of the global bioeconomy, and now includes chemical building blocks, polymers and renewable energy. All these applications can be described as “plant molecular farming” (PMF). Despite its potential to increase the sustainability of biologics manufacturing, PMF has yet to be embraced broadly by industry. This reflects a combination of regulatory uncertainty, limited information on process cost structures, and the absence of trained staff and suitable manufacturing capacity. However, the limited adaptation of plants and plant cells to the requirements of industry-scale manufacturing is an equally important hurdle. For example, the targeted genetic manipulation of yeast has been common practice since the 1980s, whereas reliable site-directed mutagenesis in most plants has only become available with the advent of CRISPR/Cas9 and similar genome editing technologies since around 2010. Here we summarize the applications of new genetic engineering technologies to improve plants as biomanufacturing platforms. We start by identifying current bottlenecks in manufacturing, then illustrate the progress that has already been made and discuss the potential for improvement at the molecular, cellular and organism levels. We discuss the effects of metabolic optimization, adaptation of the endomembrane system, modified glycosylation profiles, programmable growth and senescence, protease inactivation, and the expression of enzymes that promote biodegradation. We outline strategies to achieve these modifications by targeted gene modification, considering case-by-case examples of individual improvements and the combined modifications needed to generate a new general-purpose “chassis” for PMF.
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Affiliation(s)
- J F Buyel
- Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME, Forckenbeckstrasse 6, 52074, Aachen, Germany. .,Institute for Molecular Biotechnology, RWTH Aachen University, Worringerweg 1, 52074, Aachen, Germany.
| | - E Stöger
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - L Bortesi
- Aachen-Maastricht Institute for Biobased Materials (AMIBM), Maastricht University, Brightlands Chemelot Campus, Urmonderbaan 22, 6167 RD, Geleen, The Netherlands
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21
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McNulty MJ, Silberstein DZ, Kuhn BT, Padgett HS, Nandi S, McDonald KA, Cross CE. Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency and recombinant protein sources with focus on plant sources: Updates, challenges and perspectives. Free Radic Biol Med 2021; 163:10-30. [PMID: 33279618 DOI: 10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2020.11.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2020] [Revised: 11/20/2020] [Accepted: 11/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (A1ATD) is an autosomal recessive disease characterized by low plasma levels of A1AT, a serine protease inhibitor representing the most abundant circulating antiprotease normally present at plasma levels of 1-2 g/L. The dominant clinical manifestations include predispositions to early onset emphysema due to protease/antiprotease imbalance in distal lung parenchyma and liver disease largely due to unsecreted polymerized accumulations of misfolded mutant A1AT within the endoplasmic reticulum of hepatocytes. Since 1987, the only FDA licensed specific therapy for the emphysema component has been infusions of A1AT purified from pooled human plasma at the 2020 cost of up to US $200,000/year with the risk of intermittent shortages. In the past three decades various, potentially less expensive, recombinant forms of human A1AT have reached early stages of development, one of which is just reaching the stage of human clinical trials. The focus of this review is to update strategies for the treatment of the pulmonary component of A1ATD with some focus on perspectives for therapeutic production and regulatory approval of a recombinant product from plants. We review other competitive technologies for treating the lung disease manifestations of A1ATD, highlight strategies for the generation of data potentially helpful for securing FDA Investigational New Drug (IND) approval and present challenges in the selection of clinical trial strategies required for FDA licensing of a New Drug Approval (NDA) for this disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew J McNulty
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | - David Z Silberstein
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Brooks T Kuhn
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA, USA; University of California, Davis, Alpha-1 Deficiency Clinic, Sacramento, CA, USA
| | | | - Somen Nandi
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, Davis, CA, USA; Global HealthShare Initiative®, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Karen A McDonald
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, Davis, CA, USA; Global HealthShare Initiative®, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Carroll E Cross
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA, USA; University of California, Davis, Alpha-1 Deficiency Clinic, Sacramento, CA, USA; Department of Physiology and Membrane Biology, University of California, Davis, CA, USA.
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22
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Mamedov T, Gurbuzaslan I, Yuksel D, Ilgin M, Mammadova G, Ozkul A, Hasanova G. Soluble Human Angiotensin- Converting Enzyme 2 as a Potential Therapeutic Tool for COVID-19 is Produced at High Levels In Nicotiana benthamiana Plant With Potent Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Activity. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2021; 12:742875. [PMID: 34938305 PMCID: PMC8685454 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2021.742875] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2021] [Accepted: 11/08/2021] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, which is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has rapidly spread to more than 222 countries and has put global public health at high risk. The world urgently needs a safe, cost-effective SARS-CoV-2 vaccine as well as therapeutic and antiviral drugs to combat COVID-19. Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), as a key receptor for SARS-CoV-2 infections, has been proposed as a potential therapeutic tool in patients with COVID-19. In this study, we report a high-level production (about ∼0.75 g/kg leaf biomass) of human soluble (truncated) ACE2 in the Nicotiana benthamiana plant. After the Ni-NTA single-step, the purification yields of recombinant plant produced ACE2 protein in glycosylated and deglycosylated forms calculated as ∼0.4 and 0.5 g/kg leaf biomass, respectively. The plant produced recombinant human soluble ACE2s successfully bind to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. Importantly, both deglycosylated and glycosylated forms of ACE2 are stable at increased temperatures for extended periods of time and demonstrated strong anti-SARS-CoV-2 activities in vitro. The half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values of glycosylated ACE2 (gACE2) and deglycosylated ACE2 (dACE2) were ∼1.0 and 8.48 μg/ml, respectively, for the pre-entry infection, when incubated with 100TCID50 of SARS-CoV-2. Therefore, plant produced soluble ACE2s are promising cost-effective and safe candidates as a potential therapeutic tool in the treatment of patients with COVID-19.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tarlan Mamedov
- Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Akdeniz University, Antalya, Turkey
- Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, Baku, Azerbaijan
- *Correspondence: Tarlan Mamedov,
| | - Irem Gurbuzaslan
- Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Akdeniz University, Antalya, Turkey
| | - Damla Yuksel
- Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Akdeniz University, Antalya, Turkey
| | - Merve Ilgin
- Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Akdeniz University, Antalya, Turkey
| | - Gunay Mammadova
- Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Akdeniz University, Antalya, Turkey
| | - Aykut Ozkul
- Department of Virology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey
- Biotechnology Institute, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Gulnara Hasanova
- Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Akdeniz University, Antalya, Turkey
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23
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Huebbers JW, Buyel JF. On the verge of the market - Plant factories for the automated and standardized production of biopharmaceuticals. Biotechnol Adv 2020; 46:107681. [PMID: 33326816 DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2020.107681] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2020] [Revised: 11/19/2020] [Accepted: 12/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
The market for biopharmaceuticals is dominated by recombinant proteins and is driven mainly by the development of vaccines and antibodies. Manufacturing predominantly relies on fermentation-based production platforms, which have limited scalability and suffer from high upstream process costs. As an alternative, the production of recombinant proteins in whole plants (plant molecular farming) provides a scalable and cost efficient upstream process because each plant functions as a self-contained bioreactor, avoiding costs associated with single-use devices and cleaning-in-place. Despite many proof-of-concept studies and the approval of a few products as medical devices, the only approved pharmaceutical proteins manufactured in whole plants have been authorized under emergency protocols. The absence of approvals under standard clinical development pathways in part reflects the lack of standardized process equipment and unit operations, leading to industry inertia based on familiarity with fermenter systems. Here we discuss the upstream production steps of plant molecular farming by transient expression in intact plants, including seeding, plant cultivation, infiltration with Agrobacterium tumefaciens, post-infiltration incubation, and harvesting. We focus on cultivation techniques because they strongly affect the subsequent steps and overall process design. We compare the benefits and drawbacks of open field, greenhouse and vertical farm strategies in terms of upfront investment costs, batch reproducibility, and decoupling from environmental impacts. We consider process automation, monitoring and adaptive process design in the context of Industry 4.0, which can boost process efficiency and batch-to-batch uniformity to improve regulatory compliance. Finally, we discuss the costs-benefit aspects of the different cultivation systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- J W Huebbers
- Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME, Forckenbeckstrasse 6, 52074 Aachen, Germany.
| | - J F Buyel
- Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME, Forckenbeckstrasse 6, 52074 Aachen, Germany; Institute for Molecular Biotechnology, Worringerweg 1, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany.
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Towards Semi-Automatic Generation of a Steady State Digital Twin of a Brownfield Process Plant. APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/app10196959] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Researchers have proposed various models for assessing design alternatives for process plant retrofits. Due to the considerable engineering effort involved, no such models exist for the great majority of brownfield process plants, which have been in operation for years or decades. This article proposes a semi-automatic methodology for generating a digital twin of a brownfield plant. The methodology consists of: (1) extracting information from piping and instrumentation diagrams, (2) converting the information to a graph format, (3) applying graph algorithms to preprocess the graph, (4) generating a simulation model from the graph, (5) performing manual expert editing of the generated model, (6) configuring the calculations done by simulation model elements and (7) parameterizing the simulation model according to recent process measurements in order to obtain a digital twin. Since previous work exists for steps (1–2), this article focuses on defining the methodology for (3–5) and demonstrating it on a laboratory process. A discussion is provided for (6–7). The result of the case study was that only few manual edits needed to be made to the automatically generated simulation model. The paper is concluded with an assessment of open issues and topics of further research for this 7-step methodology.
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Rosales-Mendoza S, Márquez-Escobar VA, González-Ortega O, Nieto-Gómez R, Arévalo-Villalobos JI. What Does Plant-Based Vaccine Technology Offer to the Fight against COVID-19? Vaccines (Basel) 2020; 8:E183. [PMID: 32295153 PMCID: PMC7349371 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines8020183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2020] [Revised: 04/08/2020] [Accepted: 04/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
The emergence of new pathogenic viral strains is a constant threat to global health, with the new coronavirus strain COVID-19 as the latest example. COVID-19, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus has quickly spread around the globe. This pandemic demands rapid development of drugs and vaccines. Plant-based vaccines are a technology with proven viability, which have led to promising results for candidates evaluated at the clinical level, meaning this technology could contribute towards the fight against COVID-19. Herein, a perspective in how plant-based vaccines can be developed against COVID-19 is presented. Injectable vaccines could be generated by using transient expression systems, which offer the highest protein yields and are already adopted at the industrial level to produce VLPs-vaccines and other biopharmaceuticals under GMPC-processes. Stably-transformed plants are another option, but this approach requires more time for the development of antigen-producing lines. Nonetheless, this approach offers the possibility of developing oral vaccines in which the plant cell could act as the antigen delivery agent. Therefore, this is the most attractive approach in terms of cost, easy delivery, and mucosal immunity induction. The development of multiepitope, rationally-designed vaccines is also discussed regarding the experience gained in expression of chimeric immunogenic proteins in plant systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sergio Rosales-Mendoza
- Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, Av. Dr. Manuel Nava 6, San Luis Potosí 78210, Mexico; (V.A.M.-E.); (O.G.-O.); (R.N.-G.); (J.I.A.-V.)
- Sección de Biotecnología, Centro de Investigación en Ciencias de la Salud y Biomedicina, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, Av. Sierra Leona 550, Lomas 2ª Sección, San Luis Potosí 78210, Mexico
| | - Verónica A. Márquez-Escobar
- Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, Av. Dr. Manuel Nava 6, San Luis Potosí 78210, Mexico; (V.A.M.-E.); (O.G.-O.); (R.N.-G.); (J.I.A.-V.)
- Sección de Biotecnología, Centro de Investigación en Ciencias de la Salud y Biomedicina, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, Av. Sierra Leona 550, Lomas 2ª Sección, San Luis Potosí 78210, Mexico
| | - Omar González-Ortega
- Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, Av. Dr. Manuel Nava 6, San Luis Potosí 78210, Mexico; (V.A.M.-E.); (O.G.-O.); (R.N.-G.); (J.I.A.-V.)
| | - Ricardo Nieto-Gómez
- Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, Av. Dr. Manuel Nava 6, San Luis Potosí 78210, Mexico; (V.A.M.-E.); (O.G.-O.); (R.N.-G.); (J.I.A.-V.)
- Sección de Biotecnología, Centro de Investigación en Ciencias de la Salud y Biomedicina, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, Av. Sierra Leona 550, Lomas 2ª Sección, San Luis Potosí 78210, Mexico
| | - Jaime I. Arévalo-Villalobos
- Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, Av. Dr. Manuel Nava 6, San Luis Potosí 78210, Mexico; (V.A.M.-E.); (O.G.-O.); (R.N.-G.); (J.I.A.-V.)
- Sección de Biotecnología, Centro de Investigación en Ciencias de la Salud y Biomedicina, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, Av. Sierra Leona 550, Lomas 2ª Sección, San Luis Potosí 78210, Mexico
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Rosales-Mendoza S, Solís-Andrade KI, Márquez-Escobar VA, González-Ortega O, Bañuelos-Hernandez B. Current advances in the algae-made biopharmaceuticals field. Expert Opin Biol Ther 2020; 20:751-766. [DOI: 10.1080/14712598.2020.1739643] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Sergio Rosales-Mendoza
- Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí, México
- Sección de Biotecnología, Centro de Investigación en Ciencias de la Salud y Biomedicina, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí, México
| | - Karla I. Solís-Andrade
- Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí, México
- Sección de Biotecnología, Centro de Investigación en Ciencias de la Salud y Biomedicina, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí, México
| | - Verónica A. Márquez-Escobar
- Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí, México
- Sección de Biotecnología, Centro de Investigación en Ciencias de la Salud y Biomedicina, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí, México
| | - Omar González-Ortega
- Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí, México
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Tusé D, Nandi S, McDonald KA, Buyel JF. The Emergency Response Capacity of Plant-Based Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing-What It Is and What It Could Be. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2020; 11:594019. [PMID: 33193552 PMCID: PMC7606873 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2020.594019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2020] [Accepted: 09/24/2020] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
Several epidemic and pandemic diseases have emerged over the last 20 years with increasing reach and severity. The current COVID-19 pandemic has affected most of the world's population, causing millions of infections, hundreds of thousands of deaths, and economic disruption on a vast scale. The increasing number of casualties underlines an urgent need for the rapid delivery of therapeutics, prophylactics such as vaccines, and diagnostic reagents. Here, we review the potential of molecular farming in plants from a manufacturing perspective, focusing on the speed, capacity, safety, and potential costs of transient expression systems. We highlight current limitations in terms of the regulatory framework, as well as future opportunities to establish plant molecular farming as a global, de-centralized emergency response platform for the rapid production of biopharmaceuticals. The implications of public health emergencies on process design and costs, regulatory approval, and production speed and scale compared to conventional manufacturing platforms based on mammalian cell culture are discussed as a forward-looking strategy for future pandemic responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Tusé
- DT/Consulting Group and GROW Biomedicine, LLC, Sacramento, CA, United States
| | - Somen Nandi
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
- Global HealthShare Initiative, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Karen A. McDonald
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
- Global HealthShare Initiative, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Johannes Felix Buyel
- Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME, Aachen, Germany
- Institute for Molecular Biotechnology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
- *Correspondence: Johannes Felix Buyel, ; orcid.org/0000-0003-2361-143X
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Shanmugaraj B, Rattanapisit K, Manopwisedjaroen S, Thitithanyanont A, Phoolcharoen W. Monoclonal Antibodies B38 and H4 Produced in Nicotiana benthamiana Neutralize SARS-CoV-2 in vitro. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2020; 11:589995. [PMID: 33329653 PMCID: PMC7728718 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2020.589995] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2020] [Accepted: 10/28/2020] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
The ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak caused by novel zoonotic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was initially reported in Wuhan city, Hubei Province of China, in late December 2019. The rapid global spread of the virus calls for the urgent development of vaccines or therapeutics for human applications to combat the coronavirus infection. Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have been utilized as effective therapeutics for treating various infectious diseases. In the present study, we evaluated the feasibility of plant expression system for the rapid production of recently identified therapeutically suitable human anti-SARS-CoV-2 mAbs B38 and H4. Transient co-expression of heavy-chain and light-chain sequences of both the antibodies by using plant expression geminiviral vector resulted in rapid accumulation of assembled mAbs in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves within 4 days post-infiltration. Furthermore, both the mAbs were purified from the plant crude extracts with single-step protein A affinity column chromatography. The expression level of mAb B38 and H4 was estimated to be 4 and 35 μg/g leaf fresh weight, respectively. Both plant-produced mAbs demonstrated specific binding to receptor binding domain (RBD) of SARS-CoV-2 and exhibited efficient virus neutralization activity in vitro. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of functional anti-SARS-CoV-2 mAbs produced in plants, which demonstrates the ability of using a plant expression system as a suitable platform for the production of effective, safe, and affordable SARS-CoV-2 mAbs to fight against the spread of this highly infectious pathogen.
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Affiliation(s)
- Balamurugan Shanmugaraj
- Research Unit for Plant-produced Pharmaceuticals, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
- Department of Pharmacognosy and Pharmaceutical Botany, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Kaewta Rattanapisit
- Research Unit for Plant-produced Pharmaceuticals, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
- Department of Pharmacognosy and Pharmaceutical Botany, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | | | | | - Waranyoo Phoolcharoen
- Research Unit for Plant-produced Pharmaceuticals, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
- Department of Pharmacognosy and Pharmaceutical Botany, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
- *Correspondence: Waranyoo Phoolcharoen,
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McNulty MJ, Gleba Y, Tusé D, Hahn-Löbmann S, Giritch A, Nandi S, McDonald KA. Techno-economic analysis of a plant-based platform for manufacturing antimicrobial proteins for food safety. Biotechnol Prog 2019; 36:e2896. [PMID: 31443134 PMCID: PMC7027456 DOI: 10.1002/btpr.2896] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2019] [Revised: 07/23/2019] [Accepted: 08/19/2019] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Continuous reports of foodborne illnesses worldwide and the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria mandate novel interventions to assure the safety of our food. Treatment of a variety of foods with bacteriophage-derived lysins and bacteriocin-class antimicrobial proteins has been shown to protect against high-risk pathogens at multiple intervention points along the food supply chain. The most significant barrier to the adoption of antimicrobial proteins as a food safety intervention by the food industry is the high production cost using current fermentation-based approaches. Recently, plants have been shown to produce antimicrobial proteins with accumulation as high as 3 g/kg fresh weight and with demonstrated activity against major foodborne pathogens. To investigate potential economic advantages and scalability of this novel platform, we evaluated a highly efficient transgenic plant-based production process. A detailed process simulation model was developed to help identify economic "hot spots" for research and development focus including process operating parameters, unit operations, consumables, and/or raw materials that have the most significant impact on production costs. Our analyses indicate that the unit production cost of antimicrobial proteins in plants at commercial scale for three scenarios is $3.00-6.88/g, which can support a competitive selling price to traditional food safety treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew J McNulty
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, Davis, California
| | | | | | | | | | - Somen Nandi
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, Davis, California.,Global HealthShare® Initiative, University of California, Davis, California
| | - Karen A McDonald
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, Davis, California.,Global HealthShare® Initiative, University of California, Davis, California
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