Meilyn Rodríguez

Expression and characterization of an anti-(hepatitis B surface antigen) glycosylated mouse antibody in transgenic tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) plants and its use in the immunopurification of its target antigen.

Transgenic plants expressing recombinant immunoglobulins have arisen as an alternative technology for the large‐scale production of antibodies useful in therapeutics and in industrial processes. In the present paper we report the expression in transgenic tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) of an anti‐HBsAg [anti‐(hepatitis B virus surface antigen)] mouse IgG1 mAb (monoclonal antibody), currently used for the industrial purification of the recombinant vaccine antigen. Using the sweet potato sporamin signal peptide, a KDEL (Lys‐Asp‐Glu‐Leu) ER (endoplasmic reticulum) anchorage domain, and a heavy‐ and light‐chain gene tandem construction, we generated F1 plants in which the expression of the antibody accounted for 0.5% of the total soluble proteins. The ‘plantibody’ (functional IgG antibody produced in plants) was easily purified by Protein A–Sepharose chromatography with a yield of ≈35 μg/g of fresh leaf material, and its glycosylation indicated that, irrespective of the KDEL signal, the molecule is modified in both the ER and Golgi. Finally, a successful comparison of the plantibody with the ascites‐derived mAb in the immunoaffinity purification of the vaccine recombinant HBsAg was performed. Taken as a whole, our results show that the large‐scale production of this antibody of industrial relevance in transgenic tobacco is feasible.

Immunogenicity and some safety features of a VEGF-based cancer therapeutic vaccine in rats, rabbits and non-human primates.

We have developed a cancer vaccine candidate (hereafter denominated CIGB-247), based on recombinant modified human vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) as antigen, and the adjuvant VSSP (very small sized proteoliposomes of Neisseria meningitidis outer membrane). In mice, previous work of our group had shown that vaccination with CIGB-247 extended tumor-take time, slowed tumor growth, and increased animal survival. Immunization elicited anti-human and murine VEGF-neutralizing antibodies, and spleen cells of vaccinated mice are cytotoxic in vitro to tumor cells that produce VEGF. We have now tested the immunogenicity of CIGB-247 in Wistar rats, New Zealand White rabbits and the non-human primate Chlorocebus aethiops sabaeus. Using weekly, biweekly and biweekly plus montanide immunization schemes, all three species develop antigen-specific IgG antibodies that can block the interaction of VEGF and VEGF receptor 2 in an ELISA assay. Antibody titers decline after vaccination stops, but can be boosted with new immunizations. In monkeys, DTH and direct cell cytotoxicity experiments suggest that specific T-cell responses are elicited by vaccination. Immunization with CIGB-247 had no effect on normal behavior, hematology, blood biochemistry and histology of critical organs, in the tested animals. Skin deep wound healing was not affected in vaccinated rats and monkeys.

Differential N‐glycosylation of a monoclonal antibody expressed in tobacco leaves with and without endoplasmic reticulum retention signal apparently induces similar in vivo stability in mice

Plant cells are able to perform most of the post-translational modifications that are required by recombinant proteins to achieve adequate bioactivity and pharmacokinetics. However, regarding N-glycosylation the processing of plant N-glycans in the Golgi apparatus displays major differences when compared with that of mammalian cells. These differences in N-glycosylation are expected to influence serum clearance rate of plant-derived monoclonal antibodies. The monoclonal antibody against the hepatitis B virus surface antigen expressed in Nicotiana tabacum leaves without KDEL endoplasmic reticulum (ER) retention signal (CB.Hep1(-)KDEL) and with a KDEL (Lys-Asp-Glu-Leu) fused to both IgG light and heavy chains (CB.Hep1(+)KDEL) were tested for in vivo stability in mice. Full characterization of N-glycosylation and aggregate formation in each monoclonal antibody batch was determined. The mouse counterpart (CB.Hep1) was used as control. Both (CB.Hep1(-)KDEL) and (CB.Hep1(+)KDEL) showed a faster initial clearance rate (first 24 h) compared with the analogous murine antibody while the terminal phase was similar in the three antibodies. Despite the differences between CB.Hep1(+)KDEL and CB.Hep1(-)KDEL N-glycans, the in vivo elimination in mice was indistinguishable from each other and higher than the murine monoclonal antibody. Molecular modelling confirmed that N-glycans linked to plantibodies were oriented away from the interdomain region, increasing the accessibility of the potential glycan epitopes by glycoprotein receptors that might be responsible for the difference in stability of these molecules.

'Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus', Causal Agent of Citrus Huanglongbing, Is Reduced by Treatment with Brassinosteroids.

Huanglongbing (HLB) constitutes the most destructive disease of citrus worldwide, yet no established efficient management measures exist for it. Brassinosteroids, a family of plant steroidal compounds, are essential for plant growth, development and stress tolerance. As a possible control strategy for HLB, epibrassinolide was applied to as a foliar spray to citrus plants infected with the causal agent of HLB, ‘Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus’. The bacterial titers were reduced after treatment with epibrassinolide under both greenhouse and field conditions but were stronger in the greenhouse. Known defense genes were induced in leaves by epibrassinolide. With the SuperSAGE technology combined with next generation sequencing, induction of genes known to be associated with defense response to bacteria and hormone transduction pathways were identified. The results demonstrate that epibrassinolide may provide a useful tool for the management of HLB.

Development of a highly efficient system for assessing recombinant gene expression in plant cell suspensions via Agrobacterium tumefaciens transformation

A transient gene‐expression system was developed and used to characterize promoter strength, to verify suitability of bacterial gene modifications for expression in plant cells, and to express active antibody molecules. The system is based on suspension tobacco cells transformed by Agrobacterium in a transient way. Conditions such as pre‐culture of tobacco cells and the co‐cultivation period were identified as determinants to achieve high expression levels. Under established conditions the activity strength of CaMV (cauliflower mosaic virus) 35 S and ToMoTV (tomato mottle taino virus) AL1 promoters were compared. A modified cry gene sequence from Bacillus thuringiensis was expressed and detected by Western‐blot analysis. A monoclonal antibody against anti‐(hepatitis B virus surface antigen) was produced in such quantities as to allow testing of biological activity and preliminary characterization.

Exchange interactions in carboxylate-bridged alternating chains of copper(II). Synthesis, crystal structure, spectroscopic and magnetic properties of catena-bis(N-salicylidene-l- methioninato)aquadicopper(II)

Abstract The synthesis, crystal structure, spectroscopic and magnetic properties are reported for catena-bis(N-salicylidene- l -methioninato)aquadicopper(II), Cu-SALENMET. The compound crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group P212121, with Z = 4. Lattice constants: a = 5.077(1), b = 13.229(1), c = 37.602(2) A, and V = 2525(8) A3. Least- squares refinement of 171 parameters led to a final R = 0.052 for 1208 independent reflections having I > 3σ(I). The asymmetric unit consists of two copper atoms and two SALENMET (N-salicylidene- l -methioninato) groups. Each metal atom is directly attached to a single SALENMET group. The first of the two copper atoms has a (4+2) tetragonally elongated coordination geometry. The SALENMET group directly attached to it and the oxygen atom of a coordinated water molecule occupy four of the coordination sites. The coordination sphere is completed by two carboxylic oxygen atoms, one belongs to a SALENMET group of an adjacent (x−1, y, z translation) asymmetric unit and the other belongs to the SALENMET group which is directly attached to the other copper atom within the asymmetric unit. This second copper atom has a (4 + 1) tetragonally elongated square pyramidal coordination geometry. Three of the coordination sites are occupied by the SALENMET group directly attached to it, one of them by the last above mentioned carboxylic oxygen atom. In this way, this oxygen atom is coordinated to both copper atoms within the asymmetric unit and the two SALENMET groups become linked through a CuOCu bridge. The coordination sphere is completed by two carboxylic oxygen atoms which belong to SALENMET groups of an adjacent asymmetric unit (x−1, y, z translation). The crystal structure consists of discrete polymeric units generated only by translation along the crystallographic a axis. The polymeric units are built by bonds through adjacent asymmetric units as described above. Magnetic susceptibility data reveal antiferromagnetic interactions that may be described by the Heisenberg alternating-chain theory. The best fit of the magnetic susceptibility data yields value for the exchange coupling constant and alternation parameter, (J, α) of −62.9 cm−1 and 0.58, respectively.

Comparative in vitro and experimental in vivo studies of the anti-epidermal growth factor receptor antibody nimotuzumab and its aglycosylated form produced in transgenic tobacco plants.

A broad variety of foreign genes can be expressed in transgenic plants, which offer the opportunity for large-scale production of pharmaceutical proteins, such as therapeutic antibodies. Nimotuzumab is a humanized anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) recombinant IgG1 antibody approved in different countries for the treatment of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, paediatric and adult glioma, and nasopharyngeal and oesophageal cancers. Because the antitumour mechanism of nimotuzumab is mainly attributed to its ability to interrupt the signal transduction cascade triggered by EGF/EGFR interaction, we have hypothesized that an aglycosylated form of this antibody, produced by mutating the N(297) position in the IgG(1) Fc region gene, would have similar biochemical and biological properties as the mammalian-cell-produced glycosylated counterpart. In this paper, we report the production and characterization of an aglycosylated form of nimotuzumab in transgenic tobacco plants. The comparison of the plantibody and nimotuzumab in terms of recognition of human EGFR, effect on tyrosine phosphorylation and proliferation in cells in response to EGF, competition with radiolabelled EGF for EGFR, affinity measurements of Fab fragments, pharmacokinetic and biodistribution behaviours in rats and antitumour effects in nude mice bearing human A431 tumours showed that both antibody forms have very similar in vitro and in vivo properties. Our results support the idea that the production of aglycosylated forms of some therapeutic antibodies in transgenic plants is a feasible approach when facing scaling strategies for anticancer immunoglobulins.

Production of Plantibodies in Nicotiana Plants

Because of the wide use and high demand in medicine, monoclonal antibodies are among the main recombinant pharmaceuticals at present, although present limitations of the productive platforms for monoclonal antibodies are driving the improvement of the large-scale technologies and the development of alternative expression systems. This has drawn the attention on plants as expression system for monoclonal antibodies and related derivatives, owning the capacity of plants to properly express and process eukaryotic proteins with biological activity resembling that of the natural proteins. In this chapter, the procedures from the isolation of the monoclonal antibody genes to the biochemical and biological characterization of the plant-expressed monoclonal antibody are described.

NmEXT Extensin Gene: a Positive Regulator of Resistance Response Against the Oomycete Phytophthora nicotianae

The oomycete pathogens produce important diseases in many plant species. To identify extensin genes expressed during the oomycete Phytophthora nicotianae-Nicotiana megalosiphon interaction, we used the SuperSAGE technology. Using this approach, we detected a N. megalosiphon extensin gene (NmEXT) triggered during the interaction. The extensin gene accumulation induced by the pathogen correlated with disease resistance in different Nicotiana species. Transient expression of NmEXT gene in susceptible Nicotiana tabacum enhanced the resistance to P. nicotianae. Our date indicated that NmEXT gene served a positive role in N. tabacum resistance against P. nicotianae.