Delivery of immunoprophylactics in transgenic plants - Current status

The search for economic alternatives for the production of recombinant immu noprophylactics has resulted in the concept of generating them in plants at relatively low cost. Two basic strategies are employed: the expression of recombinant antigens or antibodies in transgenic plants, or the presentatio n of small antigen epitopes on the surface of genetically modified plant vi ruses. Both approaches have resulted in the production of biologically acti ve immunoprophylactics that have been shown in animal studies to protect fr om the development of disease symptoms. An especially interesting feature o f producing vaccines in edible plant parts is the potential to use the tran sgenic plant as a vehicle for oral delivery. Substantial progress has been made over the past few years, and the first clinical trials have demonstrat ed the potential of this new technology. Future challenges are to express t he immunoprophylactics at controlled, high concentrations in plants that co uld be grown locally where they are needed, and to develop easy and standar dised administration procedures.