Plantibodies in human and animal health: a review

Abstract

Background: Antibodies are essential part of vertebrates' adaptive immune system; they can now be produced by transforming plants with antibody-coding genes from mammals/humans. Although plants do not naturally make antibodies, the plant-derived antibodies (plantibodies) have been shown to function in the same way as mammalian antibodies. Methods: PubMed and Google search engines were used to download relevant publications on plantibodies in medical and veterinary fields; the papers were reviewed and findings qualitatively described. Results: The process of bioproduction of plantibodies offers several advantages over the conventional method of antibody production in mammalian cells with the cost of antibody production in plants being substantially lesser. Contrary to what is possible with animal-derived antibodies, the process of making plantibodies almost exclusively precludes transfer of pathogens to the end product. Additionally, plants not only produce a relatively high yield of antibodies in a comparatively faster time, they also serve as cost-effective bioreactors to produce antibodies of diverse specificities. Conclusion: Plantibodies are safe, cost-effective and offer more advantages over animal-derived antibodies. Methods of producing them are described with a view to inspiring African scientists on the need to embrace and harness this rapidly evolving biotechnology in solving human and animal health challenges on the continent where the climate supports growth of diverse plants.

Synthetic antigen-binding fragments (Fabs) against S. mutans and S. sobrinus inhibit caries formation

“…There has been a growing interest in using antibody fragments in passive immunization strategies to treat caries 32 . Advantages of using antibody fragments are their low production costs and enhanced tissue penetration.…”

Plant-Produced Monoclonal Antibody as Immunotherapy for Cancer

“…It is possible to bring the product to the market within a short time, which eventually lowers the production cost. Plants also reduce screening costs for bacterial toxins, viruses, and prions because they are less likely to introduce human or animal pathogens than mammalian cells or transgenic animals [ 29 ]. It has been reported that plant-based antibodies expressing up to 1% of total soluble protein will cost 0.1% of that of the mammalian cell culture system and up to 2-10% of microbial systems [ 30 ].…”

“…For example, the plant-derived version of h-13F6, an anti-Ebola virus monoclonal antibody carrying the complex N-glycosylation and lacking a fucose core, showed higher efficacy than the original version originating from mammalian cells [ 11 ]. Furthermore, plants are proficient in synthesizing and assembling all types of Ab molecules effectively, for example, the tiniest antigen-binding domains, fragments, and full-length and even multimeric Abs [ 29 ]. Therefore, among all kinds of production platforms, the use of plants to produce anticancer mAbs is now attracting attention.…”

“…Although antibodies have been described to have numerous benefits, there are concerns that the purity of food crop strains could be at risk since plants carrying antibodies could contaminate food crops or toxins from pesticides or fertilizers could be transmitted to other plants. Therefore, it has been suggested that the plants that are not used as food for people or feed for livestock should be utilized to produce antibodies [ 29 ]. Since each plant species has its own physical and physiological characteristics affecting the expression and glycosylation of recombinant glycoproteins, careful consideration in the selection of plant species is a must for the successful production of antibodies.…”

Hepatitis B core-based virus-like particles: A platform for vaccine development in plants

“…As indicated in Table 6 , diverse types of VLPs have been expressed in plants. Expression in these plants can be either transient, which enables rapid, high-volume and low-cost production of vaccines [ 145 ], or transgenic, which, although stable, typically yields low levels of expression compared to the transient expression [ 157 ]. The transient expression makes screening and production of the desired protein possible in a few days which is particularly important for the development of vaccines during epidemics.…”