IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY | DEPARTMENT OF AGRONOMY | OFFICE OF BIOTECHNOLOGY | PLANT SCIENCES INSTITUTE

Research:

Utilization of corn to produce vaccine and vaccine components

Collecting blood and fecal samples from piglets fed with vaccine producing corn meal


Persons involved in this project:

Sule Karaman

Rachel Chikwamba (past)

Funding for this project:

USDA NRI # 99-35504-7799
ISURF
Plant Sciences Institute

Publications:

KARAMAN, S., CUNNICK, J., WANG, K. Analysis of Immune Response in Young and Aged Mice Vaccinated with Corn-derived Antigen against E. coli Heat Labile Enterotoxin. Molecular Biotechnology, 32: 31-42 (2006).


WANG, K., CHIKWAMBA, R., CUNNICK, J. Plant-based oral vaccine. In: Novel Vaccination Strategies. S. H. E. Kaufman (ed). Wiley-VCH Publishing, Weinheim, P385-410 (2004).


CHIKWAMBA, R., MCMURRAY, J., SHOU, H., FRAME, B., PEGG, S.E., SCOTT, P., MASON, H., WANG, K. Expression of a synthetic E. coli heat-labile enterotoxin B sub-unit (LT-B) in maize. Mol Breeding, 10: 253-265 (2002).


CHIKWAMBA, R., CUNNICK, J., HATHAWAY, D., MCMURRAY, J., KIRK, D., MASON, H., WANG, K. A functional antigen in a practical crop: Corn derived LT-B protects mice against Escherichia coli heat labile enterotoxin (LT) and the cholera toxin (CT). Transgenic Research, 11:479-493 (2002).

Plants are safe and cost efficient for production of recombinant pharmaceuticals for human and livestock. We utilize corn to produce vaccines and vaccine adjuvants. Adjuvants are substances included in commercial vaccines to enhance immunogenicity of the antigen by nonspecific induction of immune system. Two novel bacterial adjuvants are the heat labile enterotoxin B subunit (LT-B) from E. coli and its homologue CT-B from V. cholera. These antigens could also be used as vaccines against traveler’s diarrhea (LT-B) and cholera (CT-B).


Bagging transgenic pollen in the field