Plant Based Vaccines Disadvantages

Review of “Plant-based vaccines: unique advantages”

INTRODUCTION

This journal article “Plant-based vaccines: unique advantages” is based on experimental research into new ways of administering vaccines. Presently, the most common way of delivering vaccines is through injection. However, a different method of producing and administrating vaccines is to use transgenic plants. Pathogens can be synthesized in plants and when taken orally can trigger an immune response in the individual. This has the potential to become the most efficient means of administrating vaccines as mass production could be achieved at a fraction of the cost. The aim of this paper is to present the methods and findings of two experiments that involve vaccines against ETEC

Synthetic version of gene encoding variant of LT-B is synthesized, as is the version of S protein of TGEV. Horizontal gene transfer is used in order to introduce the plasmids into the maize. This is carried out by using Agrobacterium. This is carried out with zygotic embryos taken from the ear of the maize plant. After incubation period the embryos are allowed to germinate and sown to produce T1 seeds. These seeds are then ground and protein concentrations isolated by using an assay. Then a dilute series of recombinant LT-B and non-transgenic corn included in the assay, same is done with the TGEV. Production of the transgenic grain is then achieved by backcrossing lines of T1 seeds with commercial maize.

Feeding trials then carried out. Mice divided into groups and fed samples of mouse chow that contain either 50 µg of pure recombinant LT-B, wild type corn or transgenic corn that expresses 5 or 50 µg of LT-B. Both blood and fecal samples collected. After the feeding trials the mice were given only water for 24 hours. They were then killed and dissected in order to examine gut swelling.

Feeding trials carried out with disease free piglets. Three groups of piglets fed with 2 groups’ receiving either 100 g of wild corn or 50 g transgenic (containing 2 µg of S protein of TGEV) mixed with 50 g of wild corn. A third group was given a commercial oral vaccination for TGEV. It is known that this dose should produce watery diarrhea in subjects.

The results of the experiments are clearly explained and diagrams are included which presents the findings in an easy to read format. I found this article very interesting as the results prove that use of transgenic plants in order to administer vaccines does work. This result has huge importance as this method of vaccination has several advantages over the current method. It is a very economical way of producing vaccines on a large scale, there is the possibility of producing multi-component vaccines, expressing the vaccines in plant tissues means the vaccines wouldn’t have to be kept refrigerated during transportation and the fact that this has worked with food plants that are widely consumed means that vaccines could reach more people in developing countries which would have huge benefits to general world health. The study is the first example of an animal being protected from a disease by eating an edible vaccine which indicates that further research must be done in order to have an even more accurate