A vaccine produced in edible plant and/or animal products, as well as a method of second-generation vaccine development through the production of at least one complete structure of a pathogen in a transgenic plant or animal is described. Preferably, the present invention enables the production of virus-like particles in edible food plants, through the co-expression of a plurality of proteins and/or of a plurality of portions of such proteins. The co-expression of viral structural proteins should enhance the immunogenicity of the transgenic antigen by providing all elements necessary to induce a protective immune response. In one variation of the method the immune response to the transgenic vaccine would be induced by presenting the transgenic proteins as part of an edible plant structure, utilizing this to stimulate the mucosal immune system. Alternatively, the vaccine produced in transgenic plant/animal products could be purified and used as an immunogen in other vaccination strategies. A corollary to this claim is the use of transgenic plant-derived viral vaccines as recombinant vectors to shuttle host or therapeutic genes to the liver or other tissues of the body utilizing the natural trophism of the virus. A second method of vaccination, that involves the stimulation of mucosal immunity, includes the use of conventional vaccines that are applied to the surface of the rectum to induce an immune response that is manifest both locally (in the intestinal mucosa) and systemically (blood and other body tissues).
本发明描述了一种在可食用植物和/或动物产品中生产的疫苗,以及一种通过在转
基因植物或动物中生产至少一种完整结构的病原体来开发第二代疫苗的方法。优选地,本发明可通过共同表达多种蛋白质和/或这些蛋白质的多个部分,在可食用植物中生产病毒样颗粒。病毒结构蛋白的共同表达可提供诱导保护性免疫反应所需的所有元素,从而提高转
基因抗原的免疫原性。在该方法的一种变体中,诱导对转
基因疫苗的免疫反应的方法是将转
基因蛋白质作为可食用植物结构的一部分,利用它来刺激粘膜免疫系统。另外,转
基因植物/动物产品中产生的疫苗可以提纯,并在其他疫苗接种策略中用作免疫原。这种说法的一个推论是,将转
基因植物衍生的病毒疫苗用作
重组载体,利用病毒的天然滋养特性,将宿主
基因或治疗
基因穿梭到肝脏或人体的其他组织中。第二种疫苗接种方法涉及刺激粘膜免疫,包括使用涂抹在直肠表面的常规疫苗,以诱导局部(肠粘膜)和全身(血液和其他身体组织)的免疫反应。