Transgenic carrot expressing fusion protein comprising M. tuberculosis antigens induces immune response in mice.

Natalia V Permyakova,Anna A Novikovskaya,Olesya V Nosareva,Elena V Deineko,Evgeniy L Zav'Yalov,Alla A Zagorskaya,Mikhail P Moshkin,Pavel A Belavin,Elena A Uvarova,Andrey E Nesterov

doi:10.1155/2015/417565

Abstract

Tuberculosis remains one of the major infectious diseases, which continues to pose a major global health problem. Transgenic plants may serve as bioreactors to produce heterologous proteins including antibodies, antigens, and hormones. In the present study, a genetic construct has been designed that comprises the Mycobacterium tuberculosis genes cfp10, esat6 and dIFN gene, which encode deltaferon, a recombinant analog of the human γ-interferon designed for expression in plant tissues. This construct was transferred to the carrot (Daucus carota L.) genome by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. This study demonstrates that the fusion protein CFP10-ESAT6-dIFN is synthesized in the transgenic carrot storage roots. The protein is able to induce both humoral and cell-mediated immune responses in laboratory animals (mice) when administered either orally or by injection. It should be emphasized that M. tuberculosis antigens contained in the fusion protein have no cytotoxic effect on peripheral blood mononuclear cells.

Highlights

A highly efficient vaccine against Mycobacterium tuberculosis is in great demand because tuberculosis is currently among the diseases with the highest mortality rate
We describe results for the studies focused on the synthesis of the fusion protein CFP10-ESAT6-dIFN in transgenic carrot plants followed by oral administration to animals
The design of the construct makes it possible to synthesize the full-sized gene cfp10-esat6-dIFN. It is composed of two individual M. tuberculosis genes, esat6 and cfp10, and the gene encoding human deltaferon within one open reading frame

Summary

Introduction

A highly efficient vaccine against Mycobacterium tuberculosis is in great demand because tuberculosis is currently among the diseases with the highest mortality rate. Approximately 20 people worldwide are infected with tuberculosis, and as a rule, four of them die [1]. Since the early 1990s, the mortality rate among tuberculosis patients has been steadily increasing, which is the result of increase in both drug-resistant M. tuberculosis strains and HIV infection [2]. Bovine tuberculosis, which is caused by the closely related bacterium M. bovis, is hazardous to humans. 10% of tuberculosis patients were infected by animals [3]

Methods

Results

Conclusion