Generation of multi-layered protein bodies in N. benthamiana for the encapsulation of vaccine antigens

The ability of plants to assemble particulate structures such as virus-like particles and protein storage organelles allows the direct bioencapsulation of recombinant proteins during the manufacturing process, which holds promise for the development of new drug delivery vehicles. Storage organelles found in plants such as protein bodies (PBs) have been successfully used as tools for accumulation and encapsulation of recombinant proteins. The fusion of sequences derived from 27-kDa-γ-zein, a major storage protein of maize, with a protein of interest leads to the incorporation of the chimeric protein into the stable and protected environment inside newly induced PBs. While this procedure has proven successful for several, but not all recombinant proteins, the aim of this study was to refine the technology by using a combination of PB-forming proteins, thereby generating multi-layered protein assemblies in N. benthamiana. We used fluorescent proteins to demonstrate that up to three proteinaceous components can be incorporated into different layers. In addition to 27-kDa-γ-zein, which is essential for PB initiation, 16-kDa-γ-zein was identified as a key element to promote the incorporation of a third zein-component into the core of the PBs. We show that a vaccine antigen could be incorporated into the matrix of multi-layered PBs, and the protein microparticles were characterized by confocal and electron microscopy as well as flow cytometry. In future, this approach will enable the generation of designer PBs that serve as drug carriers and integrate multiple components that can be functionalized in different ways.

Seed- and leaf-based expression of FGF21-transferrin fusion proteins for oral delivery and treatment of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis

Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a global disease with no effective medication. The fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) can reverse this liver dysfunction, but requires targeted delivery to the liver, which can be achieved via oral administration. Therefore, we fused FGF21 to transferrin (Tf) via a furin cleavage site (F), to promote uptake from the intestine into the portal vein, yielding FGF21-F-Tf, and established its production in both seeds and leaves of commercial Nicotiana tabacum cultivars, compared their expression profile and tested the bioavailability and bioactivity in feeding studies. Since biopharmaceuticals need to be produced in a contained environment, e.g., greenhouses in case of plants, the seed production was increased in this setting from 239 to 380 g m^-2 a^-1 seed mass with costs of 1.64 € g^-1 by side branch induction, whereas leaves yielded 8,193 g m^-2 a^-1 leave mass at 0.19 € g^-1. FGF21-F-Tf expression in transgenic seeds and leaves yielded 6.7 and 5.6 mg kg^-1 intact fusion protein, but also 4.5 and 2.3 mg kg^-1 additional Tf degradation products. Removing the furin site and introducing the liver-targeting peptide PLUS doubled accumulation of intact FGF21-transferrin fusion protein when transiently expressed in Nicotiana benthamiana from 0.8 to 1.6 mg kg^-1, whereas truncation of transferrin (nTf338) and reversing the order of FGF21 and nTf338 increased the accumulation to 2.1 mg kg^-1 and decreased the degradation products to 7% for nTf338-FGF21-PLUS. Application of partially purified nTf338-FGF21-PLUS to FGF21^-/- mice by oral gavage proved its transfer from the intestine into the blood circulation and acutely affected hepatic mRNA expression. Hence, the medication of NASH via oral delivery of nTf338-FGF21-PLUS containing plants seems possible.

Wide bandgap semiconductor nanomembranes as a long-term biointerface for flexible, implanted neuromodulator

Electrical neuron stimulation holds promise for treating chronic neurological disorders, including spinal cord injury, epilepsy, and Parkinson's disease. The implementation of ultrathin, flexible electrodes that can offer noninvasive attachment to soft neural tissues is a breakthrough for timely, continuous, programable, and spatial stimulations. With strict flexibility requirements in neural implanted stimulations, the use of conventional thick and bulky packages is no longer applicable, posing major technical issues such as short device lifetime and long-term stability. We introduce herein a concept of long-lived flexible neural electrodes using silicon carbide (SiC) nanomembranes as a faradic interface and thermal oxide thin films as an electrical barrier layer. The SiC nanomembranes were developed using a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process at the wafer level, and thermal oxide was grown using a high-quality wet oxidation technique. The proposed material developments are highly scalable and compatible with MEMS technologies, facilitating the mass production of long-lived implanted bioelectrodes. Our experimental results showed excellent stability of the SiC/silicon dioxide (SiO₂) bioelectronic system that can potentially last for several decades with well-maintained electronic properties in biofluid environments. We demonstrated the capability of the proposed material system for peripheral nerve stimulation in an animal model, showing muscle contraction responses comparable to those of a standard non-implanted nerve stimulation device. The design concept, scalable fabrication approach, and multimodal functionalities of SiC/SiO₂ flexible electronics offer an exciting possibility for fundamental neuroscience studies, as well as for neural stimulation-based therapies.

Monodisperse Selectively Permeable Hydrogel Capsules Made from Single Emulsion Drops

Capsules are often used to protect chemical and biological entities from the environment, to control the timing and location of their release, or to facilitate the collection of waste. Their performance depends on the thickness and composition of their shells, which can be closely controlled if capsules are made from double emulsion drops that are produced with microfluidics. However, the fabrication of such double emulsions is delicate, limiting throughput and increasing costs. Here, a fast, scalable method to produce monodisperse microcapsules possessing mechanically robust, thin, semipermeable hydrogel shells from single emulsion drops is introduced. This is achieved by selectively polymerizing reagents in close proximity to the drop surface to form a biocompatible 1.6 μm-thick hydrogel shell that encompasses a liquid core. The size-selective permeability of the shell enables the growth of living yeast and bacteria in their cores. Moreover, if capsules are loaded with adsorbents, they can repetitively remove waste products from water. The simplicity and robustness of the capsule fabrication makes the process scalable and cost effective. It has thus the potential to extend the use of calibrated capsules possessing well-defined dimensions to cost sensitive fields, including food, waste water treatment, or oil recovery.

The potential of plant-made vaccines to fight picornavirus

INTRODUCTION

Several Picornaviruses are pathogens that generate serious problems for human and animal health worldwide. Vaccination is an attractive approach to fight against picornaviruses. In this regard, the development of low-cost vaccines is a priority to ensure coverage; especially in developing and low-income countries. In this context, plant-made vaccines are a convenient technology since plant cells are low-cost bioreactors capable of producing complex antigens that preserve their antigenic determinants; moreover, they can serve as biocapsules to achieve oral delivery.

AREAS COVERED

In the present review the advances in the development of plant-made vaccines against picornaviruses are summarized and placed in perspective. The main diseases that have been targeted using this approach include Poliovirus, Food and mouth disease virus, Hepatitis A virus, and Enterovirus 71.

EXPERT OPINION

Several vaccine candidates against picornavirus have been characterized at the preclinical level; with many of them capable of inducing humoral and cellular responses that led to neutralization of pathogens when evaluated in vitro and test animal challenge assays. Plant-made vaccines are a promise to fight picornaviruses; especially in the developing world where limited resources hamper vaccination coverage. A critical analysis of the road ahead for this technology is provided.

Maize-Produced Ag2 as a Subunit Vaccine for Valley Fever

Coccidioides is the causative agent of San Joaquin Valley fever, a fungal disease prevalent in the semiarid regions of the Americas. Efforts to develop a fungal vaccine over the last 2 decades were unsuccessful. A candidate antigen, Antigen 2 (Ag2), is notoriously difficult to express in Escherichia coli, and this study sought to accumulate the antigen at high levels in maize. Transformed maize lines accumulated recombinant Ag2 at levels >1 g/kg. Mice immunized with this antigen and challenged with live Coccidioides arthroconidia showed a reduction in the fungal load when Ag2 derived from either E. coli or maize was loaded into glucan chitin particles. A fusion of Ag2 to dendritic cell carrier peptide (DCpep) induced a T-helper type 17 response in the spleen when orally delivered, indicative of a protective immune response. The maize production platform and the glucan chitin particle adjuvant system show promise for development of a Coccidioides vaccine, but further testing is needed to fully assess the optimal method of administration.

Plant-derived protein bodies as delivery vehicles for recombinant proteins into mammalian cells

The encapsulation of biopharmaceuticals into micro- or nanoparticles is a strategy frequently used to prevent degradation or to achieve the slow release of therapeutics and vaccines. Protein bodies (PBs), which occur naturally as storage organelles in seeds, can be used as such carrier vehicles. The fusion of the N-terminal sequence of the maize storage protein, γ-zein, to other proteins is sufficient to induce the formation of PBs, which can be used to bioencapsulate recombinant proteins directly in the plant production host. In addition, the immunostimulatory effects of zein have been reported, which are advantageous for vaccine delivery. However, little is known about the interaction between zein PBs and mammalian cells. To better understand this interaction, fluorescent PBs, resulting from the fusion of the N-terminal portion of zein to a green fluorescent protein, was produced in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves, recovered by a filtration-based downstream procedure, and used to investigate their internalization efficiency into mammalian cells. We show that fluorescent PBs were efficiently internalized into intestinal epithelial cells and antigen-presenting cells (APCs) at a higher rate than polystyrene beads of comparable size. Furthermore, we observed that PBs stimulated cytokine secretion by epithelial cells, a characteristic that may confer vaccine adjuvant activities through the recruitment of APCs. Taken together, these results support the use of zein fusion proteins in developing novel approaches for drug delivery based on controlled protein packaging into plant PBs.

Co-Administration of Injected and Oral Vaccine Candidates Elicits Improved Immune Responses over Either Route Alone

Infectious diseases continue to be a significant cause of morbidity and mortality, and although efficacious vaccines are available for many diseases, some parenteral vaccines elicit little or no mucosal antibodies which can be a significant problem since mucosal tissue is the point of entry for 90% of pathogens. In order to provide protection for both serum and mucosal areas, we have tested a combinatorial approach of both parenteral and oral administration of antigens for diseases caused by a viral pathogen, Hepatitis B, and a fungal pathogen, Coccidioides. We demonstrate that co-administration by the parenteral and oral routes is a useful tool to increase the overall immune response. This can include achieving an immune response in tissues that are not elicited when using only one route of administration, providing a higher level of response that can lead to fewer required doses or possibly providing a better response for individuals that are considered poor or non-responders.

Cold chain and virus-free oral polio booster vaccine made in lettuce chloroplasts confers protection against all three poliovirus serotypes

To prevent vaccine-associated paralytic poliomyelitis, WHO recommended withdrawal of Oral Polio Vaccine (Serotype-2) and a single dose of Inactivated Poliovirus Vaccine (IPV). IPV however is expensive, requires cold chain, injections and offers limited intestinal mucosal immunity, essential to prevent polio reinfection in countries with open sewer system. To date, there is no virus-free and cold chain-free polio vaccine capable of inducing robust mucosal immunity. We report here a novel low-cost, cold chain/poliovirus-free, booster vaccine using poliovirus capsid protein (VP1, conserved in all serotypes) fused with cholera non-toxic B subunit (CTB) expressed in lettuce chloroplasts. PCR using unique primer sets confirmed site-specific integration of CTB-VP1 transgene cassettes. Absence of the native chloroplast genome in Southern blots confirmed homoplasmy. Codon optimization of the VP1 coding sequence enhanced its expression 9-15-fold in chloroplasts. GM1-ganglioside receptor-binding ELISA confirmed pentamer assembly of CTB-VP1 fusion protein, fulfilling a key requirement for oral antigen delivery through gut epithelium. Transmission Electron Microscope images and hydrodynamic radius analysis confirmed VP1-VLPs of 22.3 nm size. Mice primed with IPV and boosted three times with lyophilized plant cells expressing CTB-VP1co, formulated with plant-derived oral adjuvants, enhanced VP1-specific IgG1, VP1-IgA titres and neutralization (80%-100% seropositivity of Sabin-1, 2, 3). In contrast, IPV single dose resulted in <50% VP1-IgG1 and negligible VP1-IgA titres, poor neutralization and seropositivity (<20%, <40% Sabin 1,2). Mice orally boosted with CTB-VP1co, without IPV priming, failed to produce any protective neutralizing antibody. Because global population is receiving IPV single dose, booster vaccine free of poliovirus or cold chain offers a timely low-cost solution to eradicate polio.

Prospects on the Use of Schizochytrium sp. to Develop Oral Vaccines

Although oral subunit vaccines are highly relevant in the fight against widespread diseases, their high cost, safety and proper immunogenicity are attributes that have yet to be addressed in many cases and thus these limitations should be considered in the development of new oral vaccines. Prominent examples of new platforms proposed to address these limitations are plant cells and microalgae. Schizochytrium sp. constitutes an attractive expression host for vaccine production because of its high biosynthetic capacity, fast growth in low cost culture media, and the availability of processes for industrial scale production. In addition, whole Schizochytrium sp. cells may serve as delivery vectors; especially for oral vaccines since Schizochytrium sp. is safe for oral consumption, produces immunomodulatory compounds, and may provide bioencapsulation to the antigen, thus increasing its bioavailability. Remarkably, Schizochytrium sp. was recently used for the production of a highly immunoprotective influenza vaccine. Moreover, an efficient method for transient expression of antigens based on viral vectors and Schizochytrium sp. as host has been recently developed. In this review, the potential of Schizochytrium sp. in vaccinology is placed in perspective, with emphasis on its use as an attractive oral vaccination vehicle.

Expression and assembly of largest foreign protein in chloroplasts: oral delivery of human FVIII made in lettuce chloroplasts robustly suppresses inhibitor formation in haemophilia A mice

Inhibitor formation is a serious complication of factor VIII (FVIII) replacement therapy for the X-linked bleeding disorder haemophilia A and occurs in 20%-30% of patients. No prophylactic tolerance protocol currently exists. Although we reported oral tolerance induction using FVIII domains expressed in tobacco chloroplasts, significant challenges in clinical advancement include expression of the full-length CTB-FVIII sequence to cover the entire patient population, regardless of individual CD4+ T-cell epitope responses. Codon optimization of FVIII heavy chain (HC) and light chain (LC) increased expression 15- to 42-fold higher than the native human genes. Homoplasmic lettuce lines expressed CTB fusion proteins of FVIII-HC (99.3 kDa), LC (91.8 kDa), C2 (31 kDa) or single chain (SC, 178.2 kDa) up to 3622, 263, 3321 and 852 μg/g in lyophilized plant cells, when grown in a cGMP hydroponic facility (Fraunhofer). CTB-FVIII-SC is the largest foreign protein expressed in chloroplasts; despite a large pentamer size (891 kDa), assembly, folding and disulphide bonds were maintained upon lyophilization and long-term storage as revealed by GM1-ganglioside receptor binding assays. Repeated oral gavages (twice/week for 2 months) of CTB-FVIII-HC/CTB-FVIII-LC reduced inhibitor titres ~10-fold (average 44 BU/mL to 4.7 BU/mL) in haemophilia A mice. Most importantly, increase in the frequency of circulating LAP-expressing CD4+ CD25+ FoxP3+ Treg in tolerized mice could be used as an important cellular biomarker in human clinical trials for plant-based oral tolerance induction. In conclusion, this study reports the first clinical candidate for oral tolerance induction that is urgently needed to protect haemophilia A patients receiving FVIII injections.

Adsorption and Biodegradation of Aromatic Chemicals by Bacteria Encapsulated in a Hydrophobic Silica Gel

An adsorbent silica biogel material was developed via silica gel encapsulation of Pseudomonas sp. NCIB 9816-4, a bacterium that degrades a broad spectrum of aromatic pollutants. The adsorbent matrix was synthesized using silica precursors methyltrimethoxysilane and tetramethoxysilane to maximize the adsorption capacity of the matrix while maintaining a highly networked and porous microstructure. The encapsulated bacteria enhanced the removal rate and capacity of the matrix for an aromatic chemical mixture. Repeated use of the material over four cycles was conducted to demonstrate that the removal capacity could be maintained with combined adsorption and biodegradation. The silica biogel can thus be used extensively without the need for disposal, as a result of continuous biodegradation by the encapsulated bacteria. However, an inverse trend was observed with the ratio of biodegradation to adsorption as a function of log K_ow, suggesting increasing mass-transport limitation for the most hydrophobic chemicals used (log K_ow > 4).

Encapsulation of Autoinducer Sensing Reporter Bacteria in Reinforced Alginate-Based Microbeads

Quorum sensing, in which bacteria communities use signaling molecules for inter- and intracellular communication, has been intensively studied in recent decades. In order to fabricate highly sensitive easy-to-handle point of care biosensors that detect quorum sensing molecules, we have developed, as is reported here, reporter bacteria loaded alginate-methacrylate (alginate-MA) hydrogel beads. The alginate-MA beads, which were obtained by electrostatic extrusion, were reinforced by photo-cross-linking to increase stability and thereby to reduce bacteria leaching. In these beads the genetically engineered fluorescent reporter bacterium Escherichia coli pTetR-LasR-pLuxR-GFP (E. coli pLuxR-GFP) was encapsulated, which responds to the autoinducer N-(3-oxododecanoyl)homoserine lactone secreted by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. After encapsulation in alginate-MA hydrogel beads with diameters in the range of 100-300 μm that were produced by an electrostatic extrusion method and rapid photo-cross-linking, the E. coli pLuxR-GFP were found to possess a high degree of viability and sensing activity. The encapsulated bacteria could proliferate inside the hydrogel beads, when exposed to bacteria culture medium. In media containing the autoinducer N-(3-oxododecanoyl)homoserine lactone, the encapsulated reporter bacteria responded with a strong fluorescence signal due to an increased green fluorescent protein (GFP) expression. A prototype dipstick type sensor developed here underlines the potential of encapsulation of viable and functional reporter bacteria inside reinforced alginate-methacrylate hydrogel beads for whole cell sensors for bacteria detection.

Compartmentalized Metabolic Engineering for Artemisinin Biosynthesis and Effective Malaria Treatment by Oral Delivery of Plant Cells

Artemisinin is highly effective against drug-resistant malarial parasites, which affects nearly half of the global population and kills >500 000 people each year. The primary cost of artemisinin is the very expensive process used to extract and purify the drug from Artemisia annua. Elimination of this apparently unnecessary step will make this potent antimalarial drug affordable to the global population living in endemic regions. Here we reported the oral delivery of a non-protein drug artemisinin biosynthesized (∼0.8 mg/g dry weight) at clinically meaningful levels in tobacco by engineering two metabolic pathways targeted to three different cellular compartments (chloroplast, nucleus, and mitochondria). The doubly transgenic lines showed a three-fold enhancement of isopentenyl pyrophosphate, and targeting AACPR, DBR2, and CYP71AV1 to chloroplasts resulted in higher expression and an efficient photo-oxidation of dihydroartemisinic acid to artemisinin. Partially purified extracts from the leaves of transgenic tobacco plants inhibited in vitro growth progression of Plasmodium falciparum-infected red blood cells. Oral feeding of whole intact plant cells bioencapsulating the artemisinin reduced the parasitemia levels in challenged mice in comparison with commercial drug. Such novel synergistic approaches should facilitate low-cost production and delivery of artemisinin and other drugs through metabolic engineering of edible plants.

Bioencapsulation technologies in tissue engineering

Bioencapsulation technologies have played an important role in the developing successes of tissue engineering. Besides offering immunoisolation, they also show promise for cell/tissue banking and the directed differentiation of stem cells, by providing a unique microenvironment. This review describes bioencapsulation technologies and summarizes their recent progress in research into tissue engineering. The review concludes with a brief outlook regarding future research directions in this field.

Cold chain and virus-free chloroplast-made booster vaccine to confer immunity against different poliovirus serotypes

The WHO recommends complete withdrawal of oral polio vaccine (OPV) type 2 by April 2016 globally and replacing with at least one dose of inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV). However, high-cost, limited supply of IPV, persistent circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses transmission and need for subsequent boosters remain unresolved. To meet this critical need, a novel strategy of a low-cost cold chain-free plant-made viral protein 1 (VP1) subunit oral booster vaccine after single IPV dose is reported. Codon optimization of the VP1 gene enhanced expression by 50-fold in chloroplasts. Oral boosting of VP1 expressed in plant cells with plant-derived adjuvants after single priming with IPV significantly increased VP1-IgG1 and VP1-IgA titres when compared to lower IgG1 or negligible IgA titres with IPV injections. IgA plays a pivotal role in polio eradication because of its transmission through contaminated water or sewer systems. Neutralizing antibody titres (~3.17-10.17 log2 titre) and seropositivity (70-90%) against all three poliovirus Sabin serotypes were observed with two doses of IPV and plant-cell oral boosters but single dose of IPV resulted in poor neutralization. Lyophilized plant cells expressing VP1 stored at ambient temperature maintained efficacy and preserved antigen folding/assembly indefinitely, thereby eliminating cold chain currently required for all vaccines. Replacement of OPV with this booster vaccine and the next steps in clinical translation of FDA-approved antigens and adjuvants are discussed.

Oral delivery of Acid Alpha Glucosidase epitopes expressed in plant chloroplasts suppresses antibody formation in treatment of Pompe mice

Deficiency of acid alpha glucosidase (GAA) causes Pompe disease in which the patients systemically accumulate lysosomal glycogen in muscles and nervous systems, often resulting in infant mortality. Although enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) is effective in treating patients with Pompe disease, formation of antibodies against rhGAA complicates treatment. In this report, we investigated induction of tolerance by oral administration of GAA expressed in chloroplasts. Because full-length GAA could not be expressed, N-terminal 410-amino acids of GAA (as determined by T-cell epitope mapping) were fused with the transmucosal carrier CTB. Tobacco transplastomic lines expressing CTB-GAA were generated through site-specific integration of transgenes into the chloroplast genome. Homoplasmic lines were confirmed by Southern blot analysis. Despite low-level expression of CTB-GAA in chloroplasts, yellow or albino phenotype of transplastomic lines was observed due to binding of GAA to a chloroplast protein that has homology to mannose-6 phosphate receptor. Oral administration of the plant-made CTB-GAA fusion protein even at 330-fold lower dose (1.5 μg) significantly suppressed immunoglobulin formation against GAA in Pompe mice injected with 500 μg rhGAA per dose, with several-fold lower titre of GAA-specific IgG1 and IgG2a. Lyophilization increased CTB-GAA concentration by 30-fold (up to 190 μg per g of freeze-dried leaf material), facilitating long-term storage at room temperature and higher dosage in future investigations. This study provides the first evidence that oral delivery of plant cells is effective in reducing antibody responses in ERT for lysosomal storage disorders facilitating further advances in clinical investigations using plant cell culture system or in vitro propagation.

Plant-made oral vaccines against human infectious diseases-Are we there yet?

Although the plant-made vaccine field started three decades ago with the promise of developing low-cost vaccines to prevent infectious disease outbreaks and epidemics around the globe, this goal has not yet been achieved. Plants offer several major advantages in vaccine generation, including low-cost production by eliminating expensive fermentation and purification systems, sterile delivery and cold storage/transportation. Most importantly, oral vaccination using plant-made antigens confers both mucosal (IgA) and systemic (IgG) immunity. Studies in the past 5 years have made significant progress in expressing vaccine antigens in edible leaves (especially lettuce), processing leaves or seeds through lyophilization and achieving antigen stability and efficacy after prolonged storage at ambient temperatures. Bioencapsulation of antigens in plant cells protects them from the digestive system; the fusion of antigens to transmucosal carriers enhances efficiency of their delivery to the immune system and facilitates successful development of plant vaccines as oral boosters. However, the lack of oral priming approaches diminishes these advantages because purified antigens, cold storage/transportation and limited shelf life are still major challenges for priming with adjuvants and for antigen delivery by injection. Yet another challenge is the risk of inducing tolerance without priming the host immune system. Therefore, mechanistic aspects of these two opposing processes (antibody production or suppression) are discussed in this review. In addition, we summarize recent progress made in oral delivery of vaccine antigens expressed in plant cells via the chloroplast or nuclear genomes and potential challenges in achieving immunity against infectious diseases using cold-chain-free vaccine delivery approaches.

Engineering of a silica encapsulation platform for hydrocarbon degradation using Pseudomonas sp. NCIB 9816-4

Industrial application of encapsulated bacteria for biodegradation of hydrocarbons in water requires mechanically stable materials. A silica gel encapsulation method was optimized for Pseudomonas sp. NCIB 9816-4, a bacterium that degrades more than 100 aromatic hydrocarbons. The design process focused on three aspects: (i) mechanical property enhancement; (ii) gel cytocompatibility; and (iii) reduction of the diffusion barrier in the gel. Mechanical testing indicated that the compressive strength at failure (σf ) and elastic modulus (E) changed linearly with the amount of silicon alkoxide used in the gel composition. Measurement of naphthalene biodegradation by encapsulated cells indicated that the gel maintained cytocompatibility at lower levels of alkoxide. However, significant loss in activity was observed due to methanol formation during hydrolysis at high alkoxide concentrations, as measured by FTIR spectroscopy. The silica gel with the highest amount of alkoxide (without toxicity from methanol) had a biodegradation rate of 285 ± 42 nmol/L-s, σf  = 652 ± 88 kPa, and E = 15.8 ± 2.0 MPa. Biodegradation was sustained for 1 month before it dropped below 20% of the initial rate. In order to improve the diffusion through the gel, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) was used as a porogen and resulted in a 48 ± 19% enhancement in biodegradation, but it impacted the mechanical properties negatively. This is the first report studying how the silica composition affects biodegradation of naphthalene by Pseudomonas sp. NCIB 9816-4 and establishes a foundation for future studies of aromatic hydrocarbon biodegradation for industrial application.

Bioresorbable polyelectrolytes for smuggling drugs into cells

There is ample evidence that biodegradable polyelectrolyte nanocapsules are multifunctional vehicles which can smuggle drugs into cells, and release them upon endogenous activation. A large number of endogenous stimuli have already been tested in vitro, and in vivo research is escalating. Thus, the interest in the design of intelligent polyelectrolyte multilayer (PEM) drug delivery systems is clear. The need of the hour is a systematic translation of PEM-based drug delivery systems from the lab to clinical studies. Reviews on multifarious stimuli that can trigger the release of drugs from such systems already exist. This review summarizes the available literature, with emphasis on the recent progress in PEM-based drug delivery systems that are receptive in the presence of endogenous stimuli, including enzymes, glucose, glutathione, pH, and temperature, and addresses different active and passive drug targeting strategies. Insights into the current knowledge on the diversified endogenous approaches and methodological challenges may bring inspiration to resolve issues that currently bottleneck the successful implementation of polyelectrolytes into the catalog of third-generation drug delivery systems.

Oral delivery of human biopharmaceuticals, autoantigens and vaccine antigens bioencapsulated in plant cells

Among 12billion injections administered annually, unsafe delivery leads to >20million infections and >100million reactions. In an emerging new concept, freeze-dried plant cells (lettuce) expressing vaccine antigens/biopharmaceuticals are protected in the stomach from acids/enzymes but are released to the immune or blood circulatory system when plant cell walls are digested by microbes that colonize the gut. Vaccine antigens bioencapsulated in plant cells upon oral delivery after priming, conferred both mucosal and systemic immunity and protection against bacterial, viral or protozoan pathogens or toxin challenge. Oral delivery of autoantigens was effective against complications of type 1 diabetes and hemophilia, by developing tolerance. Oral delivery of proinsulin or exendin-4 expressed in plant cells regulated blood glucose levels similar to injections. Therefore, this new platform offers a low cost alternative to deliver different therapeutic proteins to combat infectious or inherited diseases by eliminating inactivated pathogens, expensive purification, cold storage/transportation and sterile injections.

Oral delivery of bioencapsulated exendin-4 expressed in chloroplasts lowers blood glucose level in mice and stimulates insulin secretion in beta-TC6 cells

Glucagon-like peptide (GLP-1) increases insulin secretion but is rapidly degraded (half-life: 2 min in circulation). GLP-1 analogue, exenatide (Byetta) has a longer half-life (3.3-4 h) with potent insulinotropic effects but requires cold storage, daily abdominal injections with short shelf life. Because patients with diabetes take >60 000 injections in their life time, alternative delivery methods are highly desired. Exenatide is ideal for oral delivery because insulinotropism is glucose dependent, with reduced risk of hypoglycaemia even at higher doses. Therefore, exendin-4 (EX4) was expressed as a cholera toxin B subunit (CTB)-fusion protein in tobacco chloroplasts to facilitate bioencapsulation within plant cells and transmucosal delivery in the gut via GM1 receptors present in the intestinal epithelium. The transgene integration was confirmed by PCR and Southern blot analysis. Expression level of CTB-EX4 reached up to 14.3% of total leaf protein (TLP). Lyophilization of leaf material increased therapeutic protein concentration by 12- to 24-fold, extended their shelf life up to 15 months when stored at room temperature and eliminated microbes present in fresh leaves. The pentameric structure, disulphide bonds and functionality of CTB-EX4 were well preserved in lyophilized materials. Chloroplast-derived CTB-EX4 showed increased insulin secretion similar to the commercial EX4 in beta-TC6, a mouse pancreatic cell line. Even when 5000-fold excess dose of CTB-EX4 was orally delivered, it stimulated insulin secretion similar to the intraperitoneal injection of commercial EX4 but did not cause hypoglycaemia in mice. Oral delivery of the bioencapsulated EX4 should eliminate injections, increase patient compliance/convenience and significantly lower their cost.

Production of highly concentrated, heat-stable hepatitis B surface antigen in maize

Plant-based oral vaccines are a promising emergent technology that could help alleviate disease burden worldwide by providing a low-cost, heat-stable, oral alternative to parenterally administered commercial vaccines. Here, we describe high-level accumulation of the hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) at a mean concentration of 0.51%TSP in maize T1 seeds using an improved version of the globulin1 promoter. This concentration is more than fourfold higher than any previously reported lines. HBsAg expressed in maize seeds was extremely heat stable, tolerating temperatures up to 55 °C for 1 month without degradation. Optimal heat stability was achieved after oil extraction of ground maize material, either by supercritical fluid extraction or hexane treatment. The contributions of this material towards the development of a practical oral vaccine delivery system are discussed.