Journal
VACCINE
Volume 21, Issue 25-26, Pages 4011-4021Publisher
ELSEVIER SCI LTD
DOI: 10.1016/S0264-410X(03)00268-8
Keywords
hepatitis B surface antigen; edible vaccine; antigen structure
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Funding
- NIAID NIH HHS [AI-42836] Funding Source: Medline
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Several subunit vaccine antigens have been successfully expressed in plants and recently the hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), expressed in potatoes, was shown to be orally immunogenic in animal studies. However, to date, a detailed analysis of the plant-derived antigen is lacking. Herein, we comprehensively characterize the structure and post-translational processing of HBsAg from potato tuber and two plant cell suspension cultures. The HBsAg was found to accumulate intracellularly as tubular structures, with a complex size distribution, differing substantially from the virus-like particle (VLP) preparations of the current commercial vaccines. Extensive disulfide-bond cross-linking, which is important for immunogenicity, was evident and 21-37% of total HBsAg protein displayed epitopes which correlate with vaccine potency. The significance of these results with regard to the production of cost-effective orally delivered vaccines is discussed. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
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