Transgenic plant production of Cyanovirin-N, an HIV microbicide

Algal and Cyanobacterial Lectins and Their Antimicrobial Properties

Lectins are proteins with a remarkably high affinity and specificity for carbohydrates. Many organisms naturally produce them, including animals, plants, fungi, protists, bacteria, archaea, and viruses. The present report focuses on lectins produced by marine or freshwater organisms, in particular algae and cyanobacteria. We explore their structure, function, classification, and antimicrobial properties. Furthermore, we look at the expression of lectins in heterologous systems and the current research on the preclinical and clinical evaluation of these fascinating molecules. The further development of these molecules might positively impact human health, particularly the prevention or treatment of diseases caused by pathogens such as human immunodeficiency virus, influenza, and severe acute respiratory coronaviruses, among others.

Evaluation of Microalgae Antiviral Activity and Their Bioactive Compounds

During the last year, science has been focusing on the research of antivirally active compounds overall after the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, which caused a great amount of deaths and the downfall of the economy in 2020. Photosynthetic organisms such as microalgae are known to be a reservoir of bioactive secondary metabolites; this feature, coupled with the possibility of achieving very high biomass levels without excessive energetic expenses, make microalgae worthy of attention in the search for new molecules with antiviral effects. In this work, the antiviral effects of microalgae against some common human or animal viruses were considered, focusing our attention on some possible effects against SARS-CoV-2. We summed up the data from the literature on microalgae antiviral compounds, from the most common ones, such as lectins, polysaccharides and photosynthetic pigments, to the less known ones, such as unidentified proteins. We have discussed the effects of a microalgae-based genetic engineering approach against some viral diseases. We have illustrated the potential antiviral benefits of a diet enriched in microalgae.

Design of fusion protein for efficient preparation of cyanovirin-n and rapid enrichment of pseudorabies virus

OBJECTIVE

Cyanovirin-N (CVN) is a cyanobacterial protein with potent neutralizing activity against enveloped virus. To achieve the economic and functional production of CVN, the CVN N-terminally fused with CL7(A mutant of the Colicin E7 Dnase) was utilized to improve the solubility and stability of CVN fusion protein (CL7-CVN). Additionally, to improve the detection limit of existing PRV diagnostic assays, CL7-CVN was used for Pseudorabies virus (PRV) enrichment from larger sample volumes.

RESULTS

CVN fused with CL7 was efficiently expressed at a level of ~ 40% of the total soluble protein in E. coli by optimizing the induction conditions. Also, the stability of CVN fusion protein was enhanced, and 10 mg of CVN with a purity of ~ 99% were obtained from 1 g of cells by one-step affinity purification with the digestion of HRV 3C protease. Moreover, both purified CVN and CL7-CVN could effectively inhibit the infection of PRV to PK15 cells. Considering the bioactivity of CL7-CVN, we explored a strategy for PRV enrichment from larger samples.

CONCLUSIONS

CL7 effectively promoted the soluble expression of CVN fusion protein and improved its stability, which was meaningful for its purification and application. The design of CVN fusion protein provides an efficient approach for the economical and functional production of CVN and a new strategy for PRV enrichment.

Antiviral Cyanometabolites-A Review

Global processes, such as climate change, frequent and distant travelling and population growth, increase the risk of viral infection spread. Unfortunately, the number of effective and accessible medicines for the prevention and treatment of these infections is limited. Therefore, in recent years, efforts have been intensified to develop new antiviral medicines or vaccines. In this review article, the structure and activity of the most promising antiviral cyanobacterial products are presented. The antiviral cyanometabolites are mainly active against the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and other enveloped viruses such as herpes simplex virus (HSV), Ebola or the influenza viruses. The majority of the metabolites are classified as lectins, monomeric or dimeric proteins with unique amino acid sequences. They all show activity at the nanomolar range but differ in carbohydrate specificity and recognize a different epitope on high mannose oligosaccharides. The cyanobacterial lectins include cyanovirin-N (CV-N), scytovirin (SVN), microvirin (MVN), Microcystisviridis lectin (MVL), and Oscillatoria agardhii agglutinin (OAA). Cyanobacterial polysaccharides, peptides, and other metabolites also have potential to be used as antiviral drugs. The sulfated polysaccharide, calcium spirulan (CA-SP), inhibited infection by enveloped viruses, stimulated the immune system’s response, and showed antitumor activity. Microginins, the linear peptides, inhibit angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), therefore, their use in the treatment of COVID-19 patients with injury of the ACE2 expressing organs is considered. In addition, many cyanobacterial extracts were revealed to have antiviral activities, but the active agents have not been identified. This fact provides a good basis for further studies on the therapeutic potential of these microorganisms.

Lectins purified from medicinal and edible mushrooms: Insights into their antiviral activity against pathogenic viruses

For thousands of years, fungi have been a valuable and promising source of therapeutic agents for treatment of various diseases. Mushroom is a macrofungus which has been cultivated worldwide for its nutritional value and medicinal applications. Several bioactive molecules were extracted from mushroom such as polysaccharides, lectins and terpenoids. Lectins are carbohydrate-binding proteins with non-immunologic origin. Lectins were classified according to their structure, origin and sugar specificity. This protein has different binding specificity with surface glycan moiety which determines its activity and therapeutic applications. A wide range of medicinal activities such as antitumor, antiviral, antimicrobial, immunomodulatory and antidiabetic were reported from sugar-binding proteins. However, glycan-binding protein from mushroom is not well explored as antiviral agent. The discovery of novel antiviral agents is a public health emergency to overcome the current pandemic and be ready for the upcoming viral pandemics. The mechanism of action of lectin against viruses targets numerous steps in viral life cycle such as viral attachment, entry and replication. This review described the history, classification, purification techniques, structure-function relationship and different therapeutic applications of mushroom lectin. In addition, we focus on the antiviral activity, purification and physicochemical characteristics of some mushroom lectins.

Natural Products and Nutrients against Different Viral Diseases: Prospects in Prevention and Treatment of SARS-CoV-2

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused a global pandemic and is posing a serious challenge to mankind. As per the current scenario, there is an urgent need for antiviral that could act as a protective and therapeutic against SARS-CoV-2. Previous studies have shown that SARS-CoV-2 is much similar to the SARS-CoV bat that occurred in 2002-03. Since it is a zoonotic virus, the exact source is still unknown, but it is believed bats may be the primary reservoir of SARS-CoV-2 through which it has been transferred to humans. In this review, we have tried to summarize some of the approaches that could be effective against SARS-CoV-2. Firstly, plants or plant-based products have been effective against different viral diseases, and secondly, plants or plant-based natural products have the minimum adverse effect. We have also highlighted a few vitamins and minerals that could be beneficial against SARS-CoV-2.

COVID-19 Crisis: How Can Plant Biotechnology Help?

The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic has led to significant public health crisis all over the world. The rapid spreading nature and high mortality rate of COVID-19 places a huge pressure on scientists to develop effective diagnostics and therapeutics to control the pandemic. Some scientists working on plant biotechnology together with commercial enterprises for the emergency manufacturing of diagnostics and therapeutics have aimed to fulfill the rapid demand for SARS-CoV-2 protein antigen and antibody through a rapid, scalable technology known as transient/stable expression in plants. Plant biotechnology using transient/stable expression offers a rapid solution to address this crisis through the production of low-cost diagnostics, antiviral drugs, immunotherapy, and vaccines. Transient/stable expression technology for manufacturing plant-based biopharmaceuticals is already established at commercial scale. Here, current opinions regarding how plant biotechnology can help fight against COVID-19 through the production of low-cost diagnostics and therapeutics are discussed.

Antiviral Potential of Algal Metabolites-A Comprehensive Review

Historically, algae have stimulated significant economic interest particularly as a source of fertilizers, feeds, foods and pharmaceutical precursors. However, there is increasing interest in exploiting algal diversity for their antiviral potential. Here, we present an overview of 50-years of scientific and technological developments in the field of algae antivirals. After bibliometric analysis of 999 scientific references, a survey of 16 clinical trials and analysis of 84 patents, it was possible to identify the dominant algae, molecules and viruses that have been shaping and driving this promising field of research. A description of the most promising discoveries is presented according to molecule class. We observed a diverse range of algae and respective molecules displaying significant antiviral effects against an equally diverse range of viruses. Some natural algae molecules, like carrageenan, cyanovirin or griffithsin, are now considered prime reference molecules for their outstanding antiviral capacity. Crucially, while many algae antiviral applications have already reached successful commercialization, the large spectrum of algae antiviral capacities already identified suggests a strong potential for future expansion of this field.

Potential Applications of Plant Biotechnology against SARS-CoV-2

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a novel coronavirus responsible for an ongoing human pandemic (COVID-19). There is a massive international effort underway to develop diagnostic reagents, vaccines, and antiviral drugs in a bid to slow down the spread of the disease and save lives. One part of that international effort involves the research community working with plants, bringing researchers from all over the world together with commercial enterprises to achieve the rapid supply of protein antigens and antibodies for diagnostic kits, and scalable production systems for the emergency manufacturing of vaccines and antiviral drugs. Here, we look at some of the ways in which plants can and are being used in the fight against COVID-19.

Bioactive Peptides Produced by Cyanobacteria of the Genus Nostoc: A Review

Cyanobacteria of the genus Nostoc are widespread in all kinds of habitats. They occur in a free-living state or in association with other organisms. Members of this genus belong to prolific producers of bioactive metabolites, some of which have been recognized as potential therapeutic agents. Of these, peptides and peptide-like structures show the most promising properties and are of a particular interest for both research laboratories and pharmaceutical companies. Nostoc is a sole source of some lead compounds such as cytotoxic cryptophycins, antiviral cyanovirin-N, or the antitoxic nostocyclopeptides. Nostoc also produces the same bioactive peptides as other cyanobacterial genera, but they frequently have some unique modifications in the structure. This includes hepatotoxic microcystins and potent proteases inhibitors such as cyanopeptolins, anabaenopeptins, and microginins. In this review, we described the most studied peptides produced by Nostoc, focusing especially on the structure, the activity, and a potential application of the compounds.

Characterization of the hypersensitive response-like cell death phenomenon induced by targeting antiviral lectin griffithsin to the secretory pathway

Griffithsin (GRFT) is an antiviral lectin, originally derived from a red alga, which is currently being investigated as a topical microbicide to prevent transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Targeting GRFT to the apoplast for production in Nicotiana benthamiana resulted in necrotic symptoms associated with a hypersensitive response (HR)-like cell death, accompanied by H2 O2 generation and increased PR1 expression. Mannose-binding lectins surfactant protein D (SP-D), cyanovirin-N (CV-N) and human mannose-binding lectin (hMBL) also induce salicylic acid (SA)-dependent HR-like cell death in N. benthamiana, and this effect is mediated by the lectin's glycan binding activity. We found that secreted GRFT interacts with an endogenous glycoprotein, α-xylosidase (XYL1), which is involved in cell wall organization. The necrotic effect could be mitigated by overexpression of Arabidopsis XYL1, and by co-expression of SA-degrading enzyme NahG, providing strategies for enhancing expression of oligomannose-binding lectins in plants.

Unexpected synergistic HIV neutralization by a triple microbicide produced in rice endosperm

Our paper provides an approach for the durable deployment of anti-HIV agents in the developing world. We developed a transgenic rice line expressing three microbicidal proteins (the HIV-neutralizing antibody 2G12 and the lectins griffithsin and cyanovirin-N). Simultaneous expression in the same plant allows the crude seed extract to be used directly as a topical microbicide cocktail, avoiding the costs of multiple downstream processes. This groundbreaking strategy is realistically the only way that microbicidal cocktails can be manufactured at a cost low enough for the developing world, where HIV prophylaxis is most in demand.

The transmission of HIV can be prevented by the application of neutralizing monoclonal antibodies and lectins. Traditional recombinant protein manufacturing platforms lack sufficient capacity and are too expensive for developing countries, which suffer the greatest disease burden. Plants offer an inexpensive and scalable alternative manufacturing platform that can produce multiple components in a single plant, which is important because multiple components are required to avoid the rapid emergence of HIV-1 strains resistant to single microbicides. Furthermore, crude extracts can be used directly for prophylaxis to avoid the massive costs of downstream processing and purification. We investigated whether rice could simultaneously produce three functional HIV-neutralizing proteins (the monoclonal antibody 2G12, and the lectins griffithsin and cyanovirin-N). Preliminary in vitro tests showed that the cocktail of three proteins bound to gp120 and achieved HIV-1 neutralization. Remarkably, when we mixed the components with crude extracts of wild-type rice endosperm, we observed enhanced binding to gp120 in vitro and synergistic neutralization when all three components were present. Extracts of transgenic plants expressing all three proteins also showed enhanced in vitro binding to gp120 and synergistic HIV-1 neutralization. Fractionation of the rice extracts suggested that the enhanced gp120 binding was dependent on rice proteins, primarily the globulin fraction. Therefore, the production of HIV-1 microbicides in rice may not only reduce costs compared to traditional platforms but may also provide functional benefits in terms of microbicidal potency.

High-level expression of the HIV entry inhibitor griffithsin from the plastid genome and retention of biological activity in dried tobacco leaves

KEY MESSAGE

The potent anti-HIV microbicide griffithsin was expressed to high levels in tobacco chloroplasts, enabling efficient purification from both fresh and dried biomass, thus providing storable material for inexpensive production and scale-up on demand. The global HIV epidemic continues to grow, with 1.8 million new infections occurring per year. In the absence of a cure and an AIDS vaccine, there is a pressing need to prevent new infections in order to curb the disease. Topical microbicides that block viral entry into human cells can potentially prevent HIV infection. The antiviral lectin griffithsin has been identified as a highly potent inhibitor of HIV entry into human cells. Here we have explored the possibility to use transplastomic plants as an inexpensive production platform for griffithsin. We show that griffithsin accumulates in stably transformed tobacco chloroplasts to up to 5% of the total soluble protein of the plant. Griffithsin can be easily purified from leaf material and shows similarly high virus neutralization activity as griffithsin protein recombinantly expressed in bacteria. We also show that dried tobacco provides a storable source material for griffithsin purification, thus enabling quick scale-up of production on demand.

An update of the recombinant protein expression systems of Cyanovirin-N and challenges of preclinical development

Introduction: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a debilitating challenge and concern worldwide. Accessibility to highly active antiretroviral drugs is little or none for developing countries. Production of cost-effective microbicides to prevent the infection with HIV is a requirement. Cyanovirin-N (CVN) is known as a promising cyanobacterial lectin, capable of inhibiting the HIV cell entry in a highly specific manner. Methods: This review article presents an overview of attempts conducted on different expression systems for the recombinant production of CVN. We have also assessed the potential of the final recombinant product, as an effective anti-HIV microbicide, comparing prokaryotic and eukaryotic expression systems. Results: Artificial production of CVN is a challenging task because the desirable anti-HIV activity (CVN-gp120 interaction) depends on the correct formation of disulfide bonds during recombinant production. Thus, inexpensive and functional production of rCVN requires an effective expression system which must be found among the bacteria, yeast, and transgenic plants, for the subsequent satisfying medical application. Moreover, the strong anti-HIV potential of CVN in trace concentrations (micromolar to picomolar) was reported for the in vitro and in vivo tests. Conclusion: To produce pharmaceutically effective CVN, we first need to identify the best expression system, with Escherichia coli, Pichia pastoris , Lactic acid bacteria and transgenic plants being possible candidates. For this reason, heterologous production of this valuable protein is a serious challenge. Since different obstacles influence clinical trials on microbicides in the field of HIV prevention, these items should be considered for evaluating the CVN activity in pre-clinical and clinical studies.

An update of the recombinant protein expression systems of Cyanovirin-N and challenges of preclinical development

Introduction: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a debilitating challenge and concern worldwide. Accessibility to highly active antiretroviral drugs is little or none for developing countries. Production of cost-effective microbicides to prevent the infection with HIV is a requirement. Cyanovirin-N (CVN) is known as a promising cyanobacterial lectin, capable of inhibiting the HIV cell entry in a highly specific manner.

Methods: This review article presents an overview of attempts conducted on different expression systems for the recombinant production of CVN. We have also assessed the potential of the final recombinant product, as an effective anti-HIV microbicide, comparing prokaryotic and eukaryotic expression systems.

Results: Artificial production of CVN is a challenging task because the desirable anti-HIV activity (CVN-gp120 interaction) depends on the correct formation of disulfide bonds during recombinant production. Thus, inexpensive and functional production of rCVN requires an effective expression system which must be found among the bacteria, yeast, and transgenic plants, for the subsequent satisfying medical application. Moreover, the strong anti-HIV potential of CVN in trace concentrations (micromolar to picomolar) was reported for the in vitro and in vivo tests.

Conclusion: To produce pharmaceutically effective CVN, we first need to identify the best expression system, with Escherichia coli, Pichia pastoris , Lactic acid bacteria and transgenic plants being possible candidates. For this reason, heterologous production of this valuable protein is a serious challenge. Since different obstacles influence clinical trials on microbicides in the field of HIV prevention, these items should be considered for evaluating the CVN activity in pre-clinical and clinical studies.

Antiviral lectins: Selective inhibitors of viral entry

Many natural lectins have been reported to have antiviral activity. As some of these have been put forward as potential development candidates for preventing or treating viral infections, we have set out in this review to survey the literature on antiviral lectins. The review groups lectins by structural class and class of source organism we also detail their carbohydrate specificity and their reported antiviral activities. The review concludes with a brief discussion of several of the pertinent hurdles that heterologous proteins must clear to be useful clinical candidates and cites examples where such studies have been reported for antiviral lectins. Though the clearest path currently being followed is the use of antiviral lectins as anti-HIV microbicides via topical mucosal administration, some investigators have also found systemic efficacy against acute infections following subcutaneous administration.

Cyanobacterial lectins characteristics and their role as antiviral agents

Lectins are ubiquitous proteins/glycoproteins of non-immune origin that bind reversibly to carbohydrates in non-covalent and highly specific manner. These lectin-glycan interactions could be exploited for establishment of novel therapeutics, targeting the adherence stage of viruses and thus helpful in eliminating wide spread viral infections. Here the review focuses on the haemagglutination activity, carbohydrate specificity and characteristics of cyanobacterial lectins. Cyanobacterial lectins exhibiting high specificity towards mannose or complex glycans have potential role as anti-viral agents. Prospective role of cyanobacterial lectins in targeting various diseases of worldwide concern such as HIV, hepatitis, herpes, influenza and ebola viruses has been discussed extensively. The review also lays emphasis on recent studies involving structural analysis of glycan-lectin interactions which in turn influence their mechanism of action. Altogether, the promising approach of these cyanobacterial lectins provides insight into their use as antiviral agents.

Rhizosecretion improves the production of Cyanovirin-N in Nicotiana tabacum through simplified downstream processing

Rhizosecretion has many advantages for the production of recombinant pharmaceuticals, notably facile downstream processing from hydroponic medium. The aim of this study was to increase yields of the HIV microbicide candidate, Cyanovirin-N (CV-N), obtained using this production platform and to develop a simplified methodology for its downstream processing from hydroponic medium. Placing hydroponic cultures on an orbital shaker more than doubled the concentration of CV-N in the hydroponic medium compared to plants which remained stationary, reaching a maximum of approximately 20μg/ml in one week, which is more than 3 times higher than previously reported yields. The protein composition of the hydroponic medium, the rhizosecretome, was characterised in plants cultured with or without the plant growth regulator alpha-napthaleneacetic acid by LC-ESI-MS/MS, and CV-N was the most abundant protein. The issue of large volumes in the rhizosecretion system was addressed by using ion exchange chromatography to concentrate CV-N and partially remove impurities. The semi-purified CV-N was demonstrated to bind to HIV gp120 in an ELISA and to neutralise HIVBa-L with an IC50 of 6nM in a cell-based assay. Rhizosecretion is therefore a practicable and inexpensive method for the production of functional CV-N.

Cyanovirin-N produced in rice endosperm offers effective pre-exposure prophylaxis against HIV-1BaL infection in vitro

Cyanovirin-N produced in rice endosperm provides efficient pre-exposure prophylaxis against HIV-1 BaL infection in vitro. Cyanovirin-N (CV-N) is a lectin with potent antiviral activity that has been proposed as a component of microbicides for the prevention of infection with Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The production of protein-based microbicide components requires a platform that is sufficiently economical and scalable to meet the demands of the large at-risk population, particularly in resource poor developing countries. We, therefore, expressed CV-N in rice endosperm, because the dried seed is ideal for storage and transport and crude extracts could be prepared locally and used as a microbicide component without further purification. We found that crude extracts from rice seeds expressing up to 10 µg CV-N per gram dry seed weight showed dose-dependent gp120 binding activity, confirming that the protein was soluble, correctly folded and active. The recombinant lectin ((OS)CV-N) reduced the infectivity of HIV-1BaL (an R5 virus strain representing the majority of transmitted infections) by ~90 % but showed only weak neutralization activity against HIV-1RF (representative of X4 virus, rarely associated with transmission), suggesting it would be highly effective for pre-exposure prophylaxis against the vast majority of transmitted strains. Crude extracts expressing (OS)CV-N showed no toxicity towards human cells at working dilutions indicating that microbicide components produced in rice endosperm are safe for direct application as topical microbicides in humans.

Induction of a dwarf phenotype with IBH1 may enable increased production of plant-made pharmaceuticals in plant factory conditions

Year-round production in a contained, environmentally controlled 'plant factory' may provide a cost-effective method to produce pharmaceuticals and other high-value products. However, cost-effective production may require substantial modification of the host plant phenotype; for example, using dwarf plants can enable the growth of more plants in a given volume by allowing more plants per shelf and enabling more shelves to be stacked vertically. We show here that the expression of the chimeric repressor for Arabidopsis AtIBH1 (P35S:AtIBH1SRDX) in transgenic tobacco plants (Nicotiana tabacum) induces a dwarf phenotype, with reduced cell size. We estimate that, in a given volume of cultivation space, we can grow five times more AtIBH1SRDX plants than wild-type plants. Although, the AtIBH1SRDX plants also showed reduced biomass compared with wild-type plants, they produced about four times more biomass per unit of cultivation volume. To test whether the dwarf phenotype affects the production of recombinant proteins, we expressed the genes for anti-hepatitis B virus antibodies (anti-HBs) in tobacco plants and found that the production of anti-HBs per unit fresh weight did not significantly differ between wild-type and AtIBH1SRDX plants. These data indicate that P35S:AtIBH1SRDX plants produced about fourfold more antibody per unit of cultivation volume, compared with wild type. Our results indicate that AtIBH1SRDX provides a useful tool for the modification of plant phenotype for cost-effective production of high-value products by stably transformed plants in plant factory conditions.

Extraction and purification methods in downstream processing of plant-based recombinant proteins

During the last two decades, the production of recombinant proteins in plant systems has been receiving increased attention. Currently, proteins are considered as the most important biopharmaceuticals. However, high costs and problems with scaling up the purification and isolation processes make the production of plant-based recombinant proteins a challenging task. This paper presents a summary of the information regarding the downstream processing in plant systems and provides a comprehensible overview of its key steps, such as extraction and purification. To highlight the recent progress, mainly new developments in the downstream technology have been chosen. Furthermore, besides most popular techniques, alternative methods have been described.

Engineering soya bean seeds as a scalable platform to produce cyanovirin-N, a non-ARV microbicide against HIV

There is an urgent need to provide effective anti-HIV microbicides to resource-poor areas worldwide. Some of the most promising microbicide candidates are biotherapeutics targeting viral entry. To provide biotherapeutics to poorer areas, it is vital to reduce the cost. Here, we report the production of biologically active recombinant cyanovirin-N (rCV-N), an antiviral protein, in genetically engineered soya bean seeds. Pure, biologically active rCV-N was isolated with a yield of 350 μg/g of dry seed weight. The observed amino acid sequence of rCV-N matched the expected sequence of native CV-N, as did the mass of rCV-N (11 009 Da). Purified rCV-N from soya is active in anti-HIV assays with an EC50 of 0.82-2.7 nM (compared to 0.45-1.8 nM for E. coli-produced CV-N). Standard industrial processing of soya bean seeds to harvest soya bean oil does not diminish the antiviral activity of recovered rCV-N, allowing the use of industrial soya bean processing to generate both soya bean oil and a recombinant protein for anti-HIV microbicide development.

Preparation of monoPEGylated Cyanovirin-N's derivative and its anti-influenza A virus bioactivity in vitro and in vivo

Influenza A virus (IAV) has been raising public health and safety concerns worldwide. Cyanovirin-N (CVN) is a prominent anti-IAV candidate, but both cytotoxicity and immunogenicity have hindered the development of this protein as a viable therapy. In this article, linker-CVN (LCVN) with a flexible and hydrophilic polypeptide at the N-terminus was efficiently produced from the cytoplasm of Escherichia coli at a >15-l scale. PEGylation at the N-terminal α-amine of LCVN was also reformed as 20 kDa PEGylated linkered Cyanovirin-N (PEG20k-LCVN). The 50% effective concentrations of PEG20k-LCVN were 0.43 ± 0.11 µM for influenza A/HK/8/68 (H3N2) and 0.04 ± 0.02 µM for A/Swan/Hokkaido/51/96 (H5N3), dramatically lower than that of the positive control, Ribavirin (2.88 ± 0.66 × 10(3) µM and 1.79 ± 0.62 × 10(3) µM, respectively). A total of 12.5 µM PEG20k-LCVN effectively inactivate the propagation of H3N2 in chicken embryos. About 2.0 mg/kg/day PEG20k-LCVN increased double the survival rate (66.67%, P = 0.0378) of H3N2 infected mice, prolonged the median survival period, downregulated the mRNA level of viral nuclear protein and decreased (attenuated) the pathology lesion in mice lung. A novel PEGylated CVN derivative, PEG20k-LCVN, exhibited potent and strain-dependent anti-IAV activity in nanomolar concentrations in vitro, as well as in micromolar concentration in vivo.

Protein and oligonucleotide delivery systems for vaginal microbicides against viral STIs

Intravaginal delivery offers an effective option for localized, targeted, and potent microbicide delivery. However, an understanding of the physiological factors that impact intravaginal delivery must be considered to develop the next generation of microbicides. In this review, a comprehensive discussion of the opportunities and challenges of intravaginal delivery are highlighted, in the context of the intravaginal environment and currently utilized dosage forms. After a subsequent discussion of the stages of microbicide development, the intravaginal delivery of proteins and oligonucleotides is addressed, with specific application to HSV and HIV. Future directions may include the integration of more targeted delivery modalities to virus and host cells, in addition to the use of biological agents to affect specific genes and proteins involved in infection. More versatile and multipurpose solutions are envisioned that integrate new biologicals and materials into potentially synergistic combinations to achieve these goals.

Plant-derived pharmaceuticals for the developing world

Plant-produced vaccines and therapeutic agents offer enormous potential for providing relief to developing countries by reducing the incidence of infant mortality caused by infectious diseases. Vaccines derived from plants have been demonstrated to effectively elicit an immune response. Biopharmaceuticals produced in plants are inexpensive to produce, require fewer expensive purification steps, and can be stored at ambient temperatures for prolonged periods of time. As a result, plant-produced biopharmaceuticals have the potential to be more accessible to the rural poor. This review describes current progress with respect to plant-produced biopharmaceuticals, with a particular emphasis on those that target developing countries. Specific emphasis is given to recent research on the production of plant-produced vaccines toward human immunodeficiency virus, malaria, tuberculosis, hepatitis B virus, Ebola virus, human papillomavirus, rabies virus and common diarrheal diseases. Production platforms used to express vaccines in plants, including nuclear and chloroplast transformation, and the use of viral expression vectors, are described in this review. The review concludes by outlining the next steps for plant-produced vaccines to achieve their goal of providing safe, efficacious and inexpensive vaccines to the developing world.

Phase system selection with fractional factorial design for purification of recombinant cyanovirin-N from a hydroponic culture medium using centrifugal partition chromatography

Centrifugal partition chromatography (CPC) with an aqueous two-phase system (ATPS) was used to purify recombinant cyanovirin-N (CV-N) from other proteins which were co-secreted into a hydroponic plant medium in a rhizosecretion process. To achieve satisfactory protein concentration, the purification was preceded by ultrafiltration performed on a 5 kDa filter. ATPS, because of their gentle nature, were selected as the phase system for CPC. A systematic phase system selection was applied. This involved studying the effect of seven parameters of ATPS: polymer type, salt type, the polymer and salt concentration, the polymer molecular weight, pH, and presence of two additional salts; NaCl and NaClO4, which all together gave 320 combinations. design of experiment (DoE) software allowed the reduction of this number to 46. Having tested partitioning of cyanovirin-N and impurities in 46 ATPS, the three best potential phase systems generated by the programme were then tested on the CPC. Out of these three, 13/13% PEG4000 sodium phosphate, pH 3.0, proved to be most effective phase system in the purification of cyanovirin-N, judged by ELISA and SDS-PAGE analysis, as it eliminated most of the impurities from the final cyanovirin-N preparation.

Recombinant jacalin-like plant lectins are produced at high levels in Nicotiana benthamiana and retain agglutination activity and sugar specificity

The plant kingdom is an underexplored source of valuable proteins which, like plant lectins, display unique interacting specificities. Furthermore, plant protein diversity remains under-exploited due to the low availability and heterogeneity of native sources. All these hurdles could be overcome with recombinant production. A narrow phylogenetic gap between the native source and the recombinant platform is likely to facilitate proper protein processing and stability; therefore, the plant cell chassis should be specially suited for the recombinant production of many plant native proteins. This is illustrated herein with the recombinant production of two representatives of the plant jacalin-related lectin (JRLs) protein family in Nicotiana benthamiana using state-of-the-art magnICON technology. Mannose-specific Banlec JRL was produced at very high levels in leaves, reaching 1.0mg of purified protein per gram of fresh weight and showing strong agglutination activity. Galactose-specific jacalin JRL, with its complicated processing requirements, was also successfully produced in N. benthamiana at levels of 0.25 mg of purified protein per gram of fresh weight. Recombinant Jacalin (rJacalin) proved efficient in the purification of human IgA1, and was able to discriminate between plant-made and native IgA1 due to their differential glycosylation status. Together, these results show that the plant cell factory should be considered a primary option in the recombinant production of valuable plant proteins.

Recombinant monoclonal antibody yield in transgenic tobacco plants is affected by the wounding response via an ethylene dependent mechanism

Variability in recombinant IgG yield in transgenic tobacco plants has previously been observed in relation to leaf position, and is interpreted as a function of ageing and the senescence process, leading to increasing protein degradation. Here, similar findings are demonstrated in plants of different ages, expressing IgG but not IgG-HDEL, an antibody form that accumulates within the endoplasmic reticulum. Antibody yields declined following wounding in young transgenic plants expressing IgG but not in those expressing IgG-HDEL. However, in mature IgG plants, the opposite was demonstrated, with significant boosts in yield, while mature IgG-HDEL plants could not be boosted. The lack of response in IgG-HDEL plants suggests that the changes induced by wounding occur post-translationally, and the findings might be explained by wounding responses that differ in plants according to their developmental stages. Plant mechanisms involved in senescence and wounding overlap to a significant degree and compounds such as ethylene, jasmonic acid and salicylic acid are important for mediating downstream effects. Treatment of transgenic plants with ethylene also resulted in a decrease in recombinant IgG yield, which was consistent with the finding that wounded plants could induce lower IgG yields in neighbouring non-wounded plants. Treatment with 1-MCP, an ethylene antagonist, abrogated the IgG yield drop that resulted from wounding, but had no effect on the more gradual IgG yield loss associated with increasing plant age.

Functional characterization of the recombinant HIV-neutralizing monoclonal antibody 2F5 produced in maize seeds

Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that neutralize human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) can be used as microbicides to help prevent the spread of HIV in human populations. As an industry standard, HIV-neutralizing mAbs are produced as recombinant proteins in mammalian cells, but the high manufacturing costs and limited capacity reduce the ability of target populations in developing countries to gain access to these potentially life-saving medicines. Plants offer a more cost-effective and deployable production platform because they can be grown inexpensively and on a large scale in the region where the products are required. Here we show that the maize-derived HIV-neutralizing mAb 2F5 is assembled correctly in planta and binds to its antigen with the same affinity as 2F5 produced in mammalian cells. Although 2F5 has been produced at high levels in non-plant platforms, the yield in maize seeds is lower than previously achieved with another HIV-neutralizing mAb, 2G12. This suggests that the intrinsic properties of the antibody (e.g. sensitivity to specific proteases) and the environment provided by the production host (e.g. the relative abundance of different proteases, potential transgene silencing) may combine to limit the accumulation of some antibodies on a case-by-case basis.

Plant made anti-HIV microbicides--a field of opportunity

HIV remains a significant global burden and without an effective vaccine, it is crucial to develop microbicides to halt the initial transmission of the virus. Several microbicides have been researched with various levels of success. Amongst these, the broadly neutralising antibodies and peptide lectins are promising in that they can immediately act on the virus and have proven efficacious in in vitro and in vivo protection studies. For the purpose of development and access by the relevant population groups, it is crucial that these microbicides be produced at low cost. For the promising protein and peptide candidate molecules, it appears that current production systems are overburdened and expensive to establish and maintain. With recent developments in vector systems for protein expression coupled with downstream protein purification technologies, plants are rapidly gaining credibility as alternative production systems. Here we evaluate the advances made in host and vector system development for plant expression as well as the progress made in expressing HIV neutralising antibodies and peptide lectins using plant-based platforms.

[Current status in the commercialization and application of genetically modified plants and their effects on human and livestock health and phytoremediation]

Developments in the use of genetically modified plants for human and livestock health and phytoremediation were surveyed using information retrieved from Entrez PubMed, Chemical Abstracts Service, Google, congress abstracts and proceedings of related scientific societies, scientific journals, etc. Information obtained was classified into 8 categories according to the research objective and the usage of the transgenic plants as 1: nutraceuticals (functional foods), 2: oral vaccines, 3: edible curatives, 4: vaccine antigens, 5: therapeutic antibodies, 6: curatives, 7: diagnostic agents and reagents, and 8: phytoremediation. In total, 405 cases were collected from 2006 to 2010. The numbers of cases were 120 for nutraceuticals, 65 for oral vaccines, 25 for edible curatives, 36 for vaccine antigens, 36 for therapeutic antibodies, 76 for curatives, 15 for diagnostic agents and reagents, and 40 for phytoremediation (sum of each cases was 413 because some reports were related to several categories). Nutraceuticals, oral vaccines and curatives were predominant. The most frequently used edible crop was rice (51 cases), and tomato (28 cases), lettuce (22 cases), potato (18 cases), corn (15 cases) followed.

Bifunctional CD4-DC-SIGN fusion proteins demonstrate enhanced avidity to gp120 and inhibit HIV-1 infection and dissemination

Early stages of mucosal infection are potential targets for HIV-1 prevention. CD4 is the primary receptor in HIV-1 infection whereas DC-SIGN likely plays an important role in HIV-1 dissemination, particularly during sexual transmission. To test the hypothesis that an inhibitor simultaneously targeting both CD4 and DC-SIGN binding sites on gp120 may provide a potent anti-HIV strategy, we designed constructs by fusing the extracellular CD4 and DC-SIGN domains together with varied arrangements of the lengths of CD4, DC-SIGN and the linker. We expressed, purified and characterized a series of soluble CD4-linker-DC-SIGN (CLD) fusion proteins. Several CLDs, composed of a longer linker and an extra neck domain of DC-SIGN, had enhanced affinity for gp120 as evidenced by molecular-interaction analysis. Furthermore, such CLDs exhibited significantly enhanced neutralization activity against both laboratory-adapted and primary HIV-1 isolates. Moreover, CLDs efficiently inhibited HIV-1 infection in trans via a DC-SIGN-expressing cell line and primary human dendritic cells. This was further strengthened by the results from the human cervical explant model, showing that CLDs potently prevented both localized and disseminated infections. This is the first time that soluble DC-SIGN-based bifunctional proteins have demonstrated anti-HIV potency. Our study provides proof of the concept that targeting both CD4 and DC-SIGN binding sites on gp120 represents a novel antiviral strategy. Given that DC-SIGN binding to gp120 increases exposure of the CD4 binding site and that the soluble forms of CD4 and DC-SIGN occur in vivo, further improvement of CLDs may render them potentially useful in prophylaxis or therapeutics.

Rational and computational design of stabilized variants of cyanovirin-N that retain affinity and specificity for glycan ligands

Cyanovirin-N (CVN) is an 11 kDa pseudosymmetric cyanobacterial lectin that has been shown to inhibit infection by the human immunodeficiency virus by binding to high-mannose oligosaccharides on the surface of the viral envelope glycoprotein gp120. In this work, we describe rationally designed CVN variants that stabilize the protein fold while maintaining high affinity and selectivity for their glycan targets. Poisson-Boltzmann calculations and protein repacking algorithms were used to select stabilizing mutations in the protein core. By substituting the buried polar side chains of Ser11, Ser20, and Thr61 with aliphatic groups, we stabilized CVN by nearly 12 °C against thermal denaturation, and by 1 M GuaHCl against chemical denaturation, relative to a previously characterized stabilized mutant. Glycan microarray binding experiments confirmed that the specificity profile of carbohydrate binding is unperturbed by the mutations and is identical for all variants. In particular, the variants selectively bound glycans containing the Manα(1→2)Man linkage, which is the known minimal binding unit of CVN. We also report the slow denaturation kinetics of CVN and show that they can complicate thermodynamic analysis; in particular, the unfolding of CVN cannot be described as a fixed two-state transition. Accurate thermodynamic parameters are needed to describe the complicated free energy landscape of CVN, and we provide updated values for CVN unfolding.

Advances in the Development of Microbicides for the Prevention of HIV Infection

Microbicides are products that can be applied to vaginal or rectal mucosa with the intent of preventing, or at least significantly reducing, the transmission of sexually transmitted infections, including HIV-1. The past 2 or 3 years of microbicide research have generated several disappointments. Large, phase 2B/3 studies failed to demonstrate product efficacy, were stopped prematurely for futility, and in the worst-case scenario possibly demonstrated microbicide-induced harm. The most recently completed efficacy study (HPTN-035) did not reach statistical significance, but did show that use of PRO-2000 was associated with a 30% reduction in HIV acquisition. Current research focuses on much more potent targeted therapy, including reverse transcriptase inhibitors and CCR5 antagonists. Ongoing challenges include optimizing the identification of safety signals in phase 1/2 studies, defining a rationale for advancing products into efficacy studies, and identifying populations with adequate HIV seroincidence rates for these studies.

Optimization of the expression of the HIV fusion inhibitor cyanovirin-N from the tobacco plastid genome

Plants with transgenic plastid (chloroplast) genomes represent a promising production platform in molecular farming, mainly because of the plastids' potential to accumulate foreign proteins to very high levels and the increased biosafety conferred by the maternal mode of plastid inheritance. Although some transgenes can be expressed to extraordinarily high levels, the expression of others has been unsuccessful. Lack of detectable transgene expression is usually attributable to either RNA instability or protein instability. Here, we have investigated the possibilities to improve the production of a pharmaceutical protein that is difficult to express in chloroplasts: the HIV-1 fusion inhibitor cyanovirin-N (CV-N). Testing various N-terminal and C-terminal fusions to peptide sequences from two proteins known to accumulate to high levels in transgenic plastids (GFP and the protein antibiotic PlyGBS), we show that both low mRNA stability and low protein stability contribute to the lack of detectable CV-N expression in chloroplasts. Both problems can be alleviated by N-terminal fusions to the CV-N coding region, thus highlighting a suitable strategy for optimization of plastid transgene expression.

Rational design of HIV vaccines and microbicides: report of the EUROPRISE network annual conference 2010

Novel, exciting intervention strategies to prevent infection with HIV have been tested in the past year, and the field is rapidly evolving. EUROPRISE is a network of excellence sponsored by the European Commission and concerned with a wide range of activities including integrated developmental research on HIV vaccines and microbicides from discovery to early clinical trials. A central and timely theme of the network is the development of the unique concept of co-usage of vaccines and microbicides. This review, prepared by the PhD students of the network captures much of the research ongoing between the partners. The network is in its 5^th year and involves over 50 institutions from 13 European countries together with 3 industrial partners; GSK, Novartis and Sanofi-Pasteur. EUROPRISE is involved in 31 separate world-wide trials of Vaccines and Microbicides including 6 in African countries (Tanzania, Mozambique, South Africa, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda), and is directly supporting clinical trials including MABGEL, a gp140-hsp70 conjugate trial and HIVIS, vaccine trials in Europe and Africa.

Molecular Pharming: future targets and aspirations

Molecular Pharming represents an unprecedented opportunity to manufacture affordable modern medicines and make these available at a global scale. The area of greatest potential is in the prevention of infectious diseases, particular in underdeveloped countries where access to medicines and vaccines has historically been limited. This is why, at St. George's, we focus on diseases such as HIV, TB and rabies, and aim to develop production strategies that are simple and potentially easy to transfer to developing countries.

The potential impact of plant biotechnology on the Millennium Development Goals

The eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are international development targets for the year 2015 that aim to achieve relative improvements in the standards of health, socioeconomic status and education in the world's poorest countries. Many of the challenges addressed by the MDGs reflect the direct or indirect consequences of subsistence agriculture in the developing world, and hence, plant biotechnology has an important role to play in helping to achieve MDG targets. In this opinion article, we discuss each of the MDGs in turn, provide examples to show how plant biotechnology may be able to accelerate progress towards the stated MDG objectives, and offer our opinion on the likelihood of such technology being implemented. In combination with other strategies, plant biotechnology can make a contribution towards sustainable development in the future although the extent to which progress can be made in today's political climate depends on how we deal with current barriers to adoption.

Plant-based anti-HIV-1 strategies: vaccine molecules and antiviral approaches

The introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy has drastically changed HIV infection from an acute, very deadly, to a chronic, long-lasting, mild disease. However, this requires continuous care management, which is difficult to implement worldwide, especially in developing countries. Sky-rocketing costs of HIV-positive subjects and the limited success of preventive recommendations mean that a vaccine is urgently needed, which could be the only effective strategy for the real control of the AIDS pandemic. To be effective, vaccination will need to be accessible, affordable and directed against multiple antigens. Plant-based vaccines, which are easy to produce and administer, and require no cold chain for their heat stability are, in principle, suited to such a strategy. More recently, it has been shown that even highly immunogenic, enveloped plant-based vaccines can be produced at a competitive and more efficient rate than conventional strategies. The high variability of HIV epitopes and the need to stimulate both humoral neutralizing antibodies and cellular immunity suggest the importance of using the plant system: it offers a wide range of possible strategies, from single-epitope to multicomponent vaccines, modulators of the immune response (adjuvants) and preventive molecules (microbicides), either alone or in association with plant-derived monoclonal antibodies, besides the potential use of the latter as therapeutic agents. Furthermore, plant-based anti-HIV strategies can be administered not only parenterally but also by the more convenient and safer oral route, which is a more suitable approach for possible mass vaccination.

Optimisation of contained Nicotiana tabacum cultivation for the production of recombinant protein pharmaceuticals

Nicotiana tabacum is emerging as a crop of choice for production of recombinant protein pharmaceuticals. Although there is significant commercial expertise in tobacco farming, different cultivation practices are likely to be needed when the objective is to optimise protein expression, yield and extraction, rather than the traditional focus on biomass and alkaloid production. Moreover, pharmaceutical transgenic tobacco plants are likely to be grown initially within a controlled environment, the parameters for which have yet to be established. Here, the growth characteristics and functional recombinant protein yields for two separate transgenic tobacco plant lines were investigated. The impacts of temperature, day-length, compost nitrogen content, radiation and plant density were examined. Temperature was the only environmental variable to affect IgG concentration in the plants, with higher yields observed in plants grown at lower temperature. In contrast, temperature, supplementary radiation and plant density all affected the total soluble protein yield in the same plants. Transgenic plants expressing a second recombinant protein (cyanovirin-N) responded differently to IgG transgenic plants to elevated temperature, with an increase in cyanovirin-N concentration, although the effect of the environmental variables on total soluble protein yields was the same as the IgG plants. Planting density and radiation levels were important factors affecting variability of the two recombinant protein yields in transgenic plants. Phenotypic differences were observed between the two transgenic plant lines and non-transformed N. tabacum, but the effect of different growing conditions was consistent between the three lines. Temperature, day length, radiation intensity and planting density all had a significant impact on biomass production. Taken together, the data suggest that recombinant protein yield is not affected substantially by environmental factors other than growth temperature. Overall productivity is therefore correlated to biomass production, although other factors such as purification burden, extractability protein stability and quality also need to be considered in the optimal design of cultivation conditions.

Development of rhizosecretion as a production system for recombinant proteins from hydroponic cultivated tobacco

Rhizosecretion is an attractive technology for the production of recombinant proteins from transgenic plants. However, to date, yields of plant-derived recombinant pharmaceuticals by this method have been too low for commercial viability. Studies conducted focused on three transgenic plant lines grown in hydroponic culture medium, two expressing monoclonal antibodies Guy's 13 and 4E10 and one expressing a small microbicide polypeptide cyanovirin-N. Rhizosecretion rates increased significantly by the addition of the plant growth regulator alpha-naphthalene acetic acid. The maximum rhizosecretion rates achieved were 58 microg/g root dry weight/24 h for Guy's 13, 10.43 microg/g root dry weight/24 h for 4E10, and 766 microg/g root dry weight/24 h for cyanovirin-N, the highest figures so far reported for a full-length antibody and a recombinant protein, respectively. The plant growth regulators indole-butyric acid, 6-benzylaminopurine, and kinetin were also demonstrated to increase rhizosecretion of Guy's 13. The effect of the growth regulators differed, as alpha-naphthalene acetic acid and indole-butyric acid increased the root dry weight of hydroponic plants, whereas the cytokinins benzylaminopurine and kinetin increased rhizosecretion without affecting root mass. A comparative glycosylation analysis between MAb Guy's 13 purified from either hydroponic culture medium or from leaf extracts demonstrated a similar pattern of glycosylation comprising high mannose to complex glycoforms. Analysis of the hydroponic culture medium at harvest revealed significantly lower and less complex levels of proteolytic enzymes, in comparison with leaf extracts, which translated to a higher proportion of intact Guy's 13 IgG in relation to other IgG products. Hydroponic medium could be added directly to a chromatography column for affinity purification, allowing simple and rapid production of high purity Guy's 13 antibody. In addition to the attractiveness of controlled cultivation within a contained environment for pharmaceutical-producing plants, this study demonstrates advantages with respect to the quality and downstream purification of recombinant proteins.

Role of genetic factors and environmental conditions in recombinant protein production for molecular farming

Plants are generally considered to represent a promising heterologous expression system for the production of valuable recombinant proteins. Minimal upstream plant production cost is a salient feature driving the development of plant expression systems used for the synthesis of recombinant proteins. For such a plant expression system to be fully effective, it is first essential to improve plant productivity by plant biomass after inserting genes of interest into a suitable plant. Plant productivity is related closely to its growth and development, both of which are affected directly by environmental factors. These environmental factors that affect the cultivation conditions mainly include temperature, light, salinity, drought, nutrition, insects and pests. In addition, genetic factors that affect gene expression at the transcriptional, translational, and post-translational levels are considered to be important factors related to gene expression in plants. Thus, these factors influence both the quality and quantity of recombinant protein produced in transgenic plants. Among the genetic factors, the post-translational process is of particular interest as it influences subcellular localization, protein glycosylation, assembly and folding of therapeutic proteins, consequently affecting both protein quantity and biological quality. In this review, we discuss the effects of cultivation condition and genetic factors on recombinant protein production in transgenic plants.

Soluble cytoplasmic expression, rapid purification, and characterization of cyanovirin-N as a His-SUMO fusion

Cyanovirin-N (CVN) is a promising antiviral candidate that has an extremely low sequence homology with any other known proteins. The efficient and soluble expression of biologically functional recombinant CVN (rCVN) is still an obstacle due to insufficient yield, aggregation, and abnormal modification. Here, we describe an improved approach to preparing native rCVN from Escherichia coli more efficiently. A fusion gene consisting of cvn and sumo (small ubiquitin-related modifier) and a hexahistidine tag was constructed according to the codon bias of the host cell. This small ubiquitin-related modifier (SUMO)-fused CVN is expressed in the cytoplasm of E. coli in a folded and soluble form (>30% of the total soluble protein), yielding 3 to 4 mg of native rCVN from 1 g of wet cells to a purity up to 97.6%. Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization coupled to time-of-flight mass spectrometry and reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic analysis showed that the purified rCVN was an intact and homogeneous protein with a molecular weight of 11,016.68 Da. Potent antiviral activity of rCVN against herpes simplex virus type 1 and human immunodeficiency virus type 1/IIIB was confirmed in a dose-dependent manner at nanomolar concentrations. Thus, the His-SUMO double-fused CVN provides an efficient approach for the soluble expression of rCVN in the cytoplasm of E. coli, allowing an alternative system to develop bioprocess for the large-scale production of this antiviral candidate.