Arabidopsis thaliana plants expressing Rift Valley fever virus antigens : Mice exhibit systemic immune responses as the result of oraladministration of the transgenic plants

• The zoonotic Rift Valley fever virus affects livestock and humans in Africa and on the Arabian Peninsula.The economic impact of this pathogen due to livestock losses, as well as its relevance to public health,underscores the importance of developing effective and easily distributed vaccines. Vaccines that can bedelivered orally are of particular interest.Here, we report the expression in transformed plants (Arabidopsis thaliana) of Rift Valley fever virusantigens. The antigens used in this study were the N protein and a deletion mutant of the Gn glycoprotein.Transformed lines were analysed for specific mRNA and protein content by RT-PCR and Westernblotting, respectively. Furthermore, the plant-expressed antigens were evaluated for their immunogenicityin mice fed the transgenic plants. After oral intake of fresh transgenic plant material, a proportionof the mice elicited specific IgG antibody responses, as compared to the control animals that were fedwild-type plants and of which none sero-converted.Thus, we show that transgenic plants can be readily used to express and produce Rift Valley Fever virusproteins, and that the plants are immunogenic when given orally to mice. These are promising findingsand provide a basis for further studies on edible plant vaccines against the Rift Valley fever virus.

Ämnesord

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Medicinska och farmaceutiska grundvetenskaper -- Immunologi inom det medicinska området (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Basic Medicine -- Immunology in the medical area (hsv//eng)

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Biologi -- Immunologi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Biological Sciences -- Immunology (hsv//eng)

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Biologi -- Biokemi och molekylärbiologi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Biological Sciences -- Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (hsv//eng)

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Medicinsk bioteknologi -- Medicinsk bioteknologi (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Medical Biotechnology -- Medical Biotechnology (hsv//eng)

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Biologi -- Mikrobiologi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Biological Sciences -- Microbiology (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Antigen production

Arabidopsis thaliana

Rift valley fever virus

Plant vaccine

Transformation

Biochemistry

Biokemi

Immunologi

Immunology

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