Abstract
Vaccination has been extensively used to prevent, eradicate and control infectious diseases. However, the development and implementation of new vaccines remains prohibitively expensive for middle and low income countries where such measures are surely needed most. The production of plant-based vaccines provides a promising alternative to create affordable biological products. In the past decade, a growing number of research groups worldwide have studied plant expression and parenteral or oral delivery of vaccine antigens, some showing promising potential. Here, we describe the basis of the system and the state of the art of developments regarding diseases of concern in developing countries.
Highlights
Since the pioneering experiments of immunization conducted by Edward Jenner in 1976 to control smallpox, vaccination has been extensively used to prevent, eradicate and control infectious diseases
The most conclusive results were that mice fed with transgenic tobacco expressing low content of antigen (0.5ng of Hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBsAg) in 5μg of tissue) after a DNA prime injection, showed an anti- HBsAg humoral immune response detected in the GALT (IgA in feces) and in the periphery (IgA and IgG in serum), which correlated with low Treg titers, while higher doses of HBsAg and plant tissue positively correlated with increases in Tregs
One of the main antigen of Mycobacterium tuberculosis that is being targeted for the development of new subunit vaccines is ESAT 6, a 6kDa secretory protein that induces a potent cellular response and that it is absent in M bovis bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) [44]
Summary
Since the pioneering experiments of immunization conducted by Edward Jenner in 1976 to control smallpox, vaccination has been extensively used to prevent, eradicate and control infectious diseases. As stated by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Countries of the Americas have led the way in vaccine-preventable disease eradication (smallpox and poliomyelitis), elimination (endemic transmission of measles), and control (pertussis, diphtheria, tetanus, invasive diseases caused by Haemophilus influenzae type b, and hepatitis B). These achievements have been secured by accomplishing and maintaining high levels of immunization coverage, accomplishing. The design of efficient edible vaccines by means of transgenic plants represents a challenging alternative to the conventional ones [12] The simplicity of their production, handling and administration makes them an attractive option for developing affordable vaccines. We described here the basis of the system and the state of the art of developments regarding diseases of concern in developing countries
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