Abstract
The emergence of new pathogenic viral strains is a constant threat to global health, with the new coronavirus strain COVID-19 as the latest example. COVID-19, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus has quickly spread around the globe. This pandemic demands rapid development of drugs and vaccines. Plant-based vaccines are a technology with proven viability, which have led to promising results for candidates evaluated at the clinical level, meaning this technology could contribute towards the fight against COVID-19. Herein, a perspective in how plant-based vaccines can be developed against COVID-19 is presented. Injectable vaccines could be generated by using transient expression systems, which offer the highest protein yields and are already adopted at the industrial level to produce VLPs-vaccines and other biopharmaceuticals under GMPC-processes. Stably-transformed plants are another option, but this approach requires more time for the development of antigen-producing lines. Nonetheless, this approach offers the possibility of developing oral vaccines in which the plant cell could act as the antigen delivery agent. Therefore, this is the most attractive approach in terms of cost, easy delivery, and mucosal immunity induction. The development of multiepitope, rationally-designed vaccines is also discussed regarding the experience gained in expression of chimeric immunogenic proteins in plant systems.
Highlights
The coronaviruses (CoVs) are enveloped viruses having a positive-sense, single-stranded genomicRNA [1] and are grouped into four genera: α-CoVs, β-CoVs, γ-CoVs, and δ-CoVs
The most promising candidates are the influenza vaccines developed by Medicago Inc. that rely on using a non-replicative vector carrying viral regulatory sequences to mediate the transient expression of Hemagglutinin (HA) in N. benthamiana, which has led to injectable vaccine candidates [42,43]
Virus-Like Particles (VLPs) influenza vaccination exhibited high levels of antibodies titers compared to the inactivated influenza vaccine (IIV)
Summary
The coronaviruses (CoVs) are enveloped viruses having a positive-sense, single-stranded genomic. The coronavirus has become a remarkable concern for global health after the diagnosis of a cluster of unknown pneumonia patients in December 2019 in Wuhan, China. The pathogen was named SARS-CoV-2 given its similarity (70% of genomic similarity) to SARS-CoV-1, which was responsible for the 2002–2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome epidemic (SARS). The symptoms associated with COVID-19 comprise flu-like symptoms including fever, cough, dyspnea, myalgia, and asthenia. SARS-CoV-2 can cause pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, sepsis, and septic shock that can lead to death [5]. COVID-19 patients usually exhibit fever and lower respiratory tract symptoms and the estimated incubation time for the disease is 14 days. The main immediate measures to prevent transmission include hand washing, wearing masks, and following good hygiene practices when coughing and sneezing [9]
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