1
|
Beritza K, Watts EC, van der Hoorn RAL. Improving transient protein expression in agroinfiltrated Nicotiana benthamiana. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2024; 243:846-850. [PMID: 38849321 DOI: 10.1111/nph.19894] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2024] [Accepted: 05/02/2024] [Indexed: 06/09/2024]
Abstract
Agroinfiltration of Nicotiana benthamiana is routinely used in plant science and molecular pharming to transiently express proteins of interest. Here, we discuss four phenomena that should be avoided to improve transient expression. Immune responses can be avoided by depleting immune receptors and employing pathogen-derived effectors; transcript degradation by using silencing inhibitors or RNA interference machinery mutants; endoplasmic reticulum stress by co-expressing chaperones; and protein degradation can be avoided with subcellular targeting, protease mutants and co-expressing protease inhibitors. We summarise the reported increased yields for various recombinant proteins achieved with these approaches and highlight remaining challenges to further improve the efficiency of this versatile protein expression platform.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Konstantina Beritza
- The Plant Chemetics Laboratory, Department of Biology, University of Oxford, OX1 3RB, Oxford, UK
| | - Emma C Watts
- The Plant Chemetics Laboratory, Department of Biology, University of Oxford, OX1 3RB, Oxford, UK
| | - Renier A L van der Hoorn
- The Plant Chemetics Laboratory, Department of Biology, University of Oxford, OX1 3RB, Oxford, UK
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Akter S, Castaneda-Méndez O, Beltrán J. Synthetic reprogramming of plant developmental and biochemical pathways. Curr Opin Biotechnol 2024; 87:103139. [PMID: 38691988 DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2024.103139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2024] [Revised: 04/16/2024] [Accepted: 04/16/2024] [Indexed: 05/03/2024]
Abstract
Plant synthetic biology (Plant SynBio) is an emerging field with the potential to enhance agriculture, human health, and sustainability. Integrating genetic tools and engineering principles, Plant SynBio aims to manipulate cellular functions and construct novel biochemical pathways to develop plants with new phenotypic traits, enhanced yield, and be able to produce natural products and pharmaceuticals. This review compiles research efforts in reprogramming plant developmental and biochemical pathways. We highlight studies leveraging new gene expression toolkits to alter plant architecture for improved performance in model and crop systems and to produce useful metabolites in plant tissues. Furthermore, we provide insights into the challenges and opportunities associated with the adoption of Plant SynBio in addressing complex issues impacting agriculture and human health.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Shammi Akter
- Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA; Delaware Biotechnology Institute, University of Delaware, 590 Avenue 1743, Newark, DE 19713, USA
| | - Oscar Castaneda-Méndez
- Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA; Delaware Biotechnology Institute, University of Delaware, 590 Avenue 1743, Newark, DE 19713, USA
| | - Jesús Beltrán
- Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA; Delaware Biotechnology Institute, University of Delaware, 590 Avenue 1743, Newark, DE 19713, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Mamedov T, Yuksel D, Gurbuzaslan I, Gulec B, Mammadova G, Ozdarendeli A, Pavel STI, Yetiskin H, Kaplan B, Uygut MA, Hasanova G. SARS-CoV-2 spike protein S1 subunit induces potent neutralizing responses in mice and is effective against Delta and Omicron variants. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2023; 14:1290042. [PMID: 38034565 PMCID: PMC10682712 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1290042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2023] [Accepted: 10/25/2023] [Indexed: 12/02/2023]
Abstract
SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, belongs to the betacoronavirus genus. This virus has a high mutation rate, which rapidly evolves into new variants with different properties, such as increased transmissibility or immune evasion. Currently, the most prevalent global SARS-CoV-2 variant is Omicron, which is more transmissible than previous variants. Current available vaccines may be less effective against some currently existing SARS-CoV-2 variants, including the Omicron variant. The S1 subunit of the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 has been a major target for COVID-19 vaccine development. It plays a crucial role in the virus's entry into host cells and is the primary target for neutralizing antibodies. In this study, the S1 subunit of the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 was engineered and produced at a high level in Nicotiana benthamiana plant. The expression level of the recombinant S1 protein was greater than the 0.5-g/kg fresh weight, and the purification yield was at least ~0.3 g of pure protein/kg of plant biomass, which would make a plant-produced S1 antigen an ideal vaccine candidate for commercialization. Purified, the plant-produced SARS-CoV-2 S1 protein exhibited significantly higher binding to the SARS-CoV-2 receptor, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). Moreover, we also show that recombinant S1 protein/antigen-elicited antibodies can neutralize the Delta or Omicron variants. Collectively, our results demonstrate that a plant-produced S1 antigen could be a promising vaccine candidate against SARS-CoV-2 variants including Omicron.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tarlan Mamedov
- Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Akdeniz University, Antalya, Türkiye
- Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnologies, Ministry of Science and Education of Azerbaijan, Baku, Azerbaijan
| | - Damla Yuksel
- Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Akdeniz University, Antalya, Türkiye
| | - Irem Gurbuzaslan
- Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Akdeniz University, Antalya, Türkiye
| | - Burcu Gulec
- Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Akdeniz University, Antalya, Türkiye
| | - Gulshan Mammadova
- Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Akdeniz University, Antalya, Türkiye
| | - Aykut Ozdarendeli
- Department of Microbiology, Medical Faculty, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Türkiye
- Vaccine Research, Development and Application Center, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Türkiye
| | - Shaikh Terkis Islam Pavel
- Department of Microbiology, Medical Faculty, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Türkiye
- Vaccine Research, Development and Application Center, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Türkiye
| | - Hazel Yetiskin
- Department of Microbiology, Medical Faculty, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Türkiye
- Vaccine Research, Development and Application Center, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Türkiye
| | - Busra Kaplan
- Department of Microbiology, Medical Faculty, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Türkiye
- Vaccine Research, Development and Application Center, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Türkiye
| | - Muhammet Ali Uygut
- Department of Microbiology, Medical Faculty, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Türkiye
| | - Gulnara Hasanova
- Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Akdeniz University, Antalya, Türkiye
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Margolin E, Schäfer G, Allen JD, Gers S, Woodward J, Sutherland AD, Blumenthal M, Meyers A, Shaw ML, Preiser W, Strasser R, Crispin M, Williamson AL, Rybicki EP, Chapman R. A plant-produced SARS-CoV-2 spike protein elicits heterologous immunity in hamsters. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2023; 14:1146234. [PMID: 36959936 PMCID: PMC10028082 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1146234] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2023] [Accepted: 02/17/2023] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Molecular farming of vaccines has been heralded as a cheap, safe and scalable production platform. In reality, however, differences in the plant biosynthetic machinery, compared to mammalian cells, can complicate the production of viral glycoproteins. Remodelling the secretory pathway presents an opportunity to support key post-translational modifications, and to tailor aspects of glycosylation and glycosylation-directed folding. In this study, we applied an integrated host and glyco-engineering approach, NXS/T Generation™, to produce a SARS-CoV-2 prefusion spike trimer in Nicotiana benthamiana as a model antigen from an emerging virus. The size exclusion-purified protein exhibited a characteristic prefusion structure when viewed by transmission electron microscopy, and this was indistinguishable from the equivalent mammalian cell-produced antigen. The plant-produced protein was decorated with under-processed oligomannose N-glycans and exhibited a site occupancy that was comparable to the equivalent protein produced in mammalian cell culture. Complex-type glycans were almost entirely absent from the plant-derived material, which contrasted against the predominantly mature, complex glycans that were observed on the mammalian cell culture-derived protein. The plant-derived antigen elicited neutralizing antibodies against both the matched Wuhan and heterologous Delta SARS-CoV-2 variants in immunized hamsters, although titres were lower than those induced by the comparator mammalian antigen. Animals vaccinated with the plant-derived antigen exhibited reduced viral loads following challenge, as well as significant protection from SARS-CoV-2 disease as evidenced by reduced lung pathology, lower viral loads and protection from weight loss. Nonetheless, animals immunized with the mammalian cell-culture-derived protein were better protected in this challenge model suggesting that more faithfully reproducing the native glycoprotein structure and associated glycosylation of the antigen may be desirable.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Emmanuel Margolin
- Division of Medical Virology, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Africa, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- Biopharming Research Unit, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Georgia Schäfer
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Africa, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Observatory, Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Joel D Allen
- School of Biological Sciences and Institute of Life Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
| | | | - Jeremy Woodward
- Electron Microscope Unit, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Andrew D Sutherland
- Division of Medical Virology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University Tygerberg Campus, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Melissa Blumenthal
- Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Observatory, Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Ann Meyers
- Biopharming Research Unit, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Megan L Shaw
- Department of Medical Biosciences, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Wolfgang Preiser
- Division of Medical Virology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University Tygerberg Campus, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Richard Strasser
- Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Max Crispin
- School of Biological Sciences and Institute of Life Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
| | - Anna-Lise Williamson
- Division of Medical Virology, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Edward P Rybicki
- Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- Biopharming Research Unit, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Ros Chapman
- Division of Medical Virology, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Rudi E, Martin Aispuro P, Zurita E, Gonzalez Lopez Ledesma M, Bottero D, Malito J, Gabrielli M, Gaillard E, Stuible M, Durocher Y, Gamarnik A, Wigdorovitz A, Hozbor D. Immunological study of COVID-19 vaccine candidate based on recombinant spike trimer protein from different SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern. Front Immunol 2022; 13:1020159. [PMID: 36248791 PMCID: PMC9560800 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.1020159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2022] [Accepted: 09/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The emergency of new SARS-CoV-2 variants that feature increased immune escape marks an urgent demand for better vaccines that will provide broader immunogenicity. Here, we evaluated the immunogenic capacity of vaccine candidates based on the recombinant trimeric spike protein (S) of different SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOC), including the ancestral Wuhan, Beta and Delta viruses. In particular, we assessed formulations containing either single or combined S protein variants. Our study shows that the formulation containing the single S protein from the ancestral Wuhan virus at a concentration of 2µg (SW2-Vac 2µg) displayed in the mouse model the highest IgG antibody levels against all the three (Wuhan, Beta, and Delta) SARS-CoV-2 S protein variants tested. In addition, this formulation induced significantly higher neutralizing antibody titers against the three viral variants when compared with authorized Gam-COVID-Vac-rAd26/rAd5 (Sputnik V) or ChAdOx1 (AstraZeneca) vaccines. SW2-Vac 2µg was also able to induce IFN-gamma and IL-17, memory CD4 populations and follicular T cells. Used as a booster dose for schedules performed with different authorized vaccines, SW2-Vac 2µg vaccine candidate also induced higher levels of total IgG and IgG isotypes against S protein from different SARS-CoV-2 variants in comparison with those observed with homologous 3-dose schedule of Sputnik V or AstraZeneca. Moreover, SW2-Vac 2µg booster induced broadly strong neutralizing antibody levels against the three tested SARS-CoV-2 variants. SW2-Vac 2µg booster also induced CD4+ central memory, CD4+ effector and CD8+ populations. Overall, the results demonstrate that SW2-Vac 2 µg is a promising formulation for the development of a next generation COVID-19 vaccine.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Erika Rudi
- Laboratorio VacSal, Instituto de Biotecnología y Biología Molecular (IBBM), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Centro Científico Tecnológico – Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CCT-CONICET), La Plata, Argentina
| | - Pablo Martin Aispuro
- Laboratorio VacSal, Instituto de Biotecnología y Biología Molecular (IBBM), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Centro Científico Tecnológico – Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CCT-CONICET), La Plata, Argentina
| | - Eugenia Zurita
- Laboratorio VacSal, Instituto de Biotecnología y Biología Molecular (IBBM), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Centro Científico Tecnológico – Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CCT-CONICET), La Plata, Argentina
| | | | - Daniela Bottero
- Laboratorio VacSal, Instituto de Biotecnología y Biología Molecular (IBBM), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Centro Científico Tecnológico – Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CCT-CONICET), La Plata, Argentina
| | - Juan Malito
- INCUINTA INTA, CONICET, HURLINGHAM, INTA Castelar, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Magali Gabrielli
- Laboratorio VacSal, Instituto de Biotecnología y Biología Molecular (IBBM), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Centro Científico Tecnológico – Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CCT-CONICET), La Plata, Argentina
| | - Emilia Gaillard
- Laboratorio VacSal, Instituto de Biotecnología y Biología Molecular (IBBM), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Centro Científico Tecnológico – Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CCT-CONICET), La Plata, Argentina
| | - Matthew Stuible
- Human Health Therapeutics Research Center, National Research Council Canada, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Yves Durocher
- Human Health Therapeutics Research Center, National Research Council Canada, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | | | - Andrés Wigdorovitz
- INCUINTA INTA, CONICET, HURLINGHAM, INTA Castelar, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Daniela Hozbor
- Laboratorio VacSal, Instituto de Biotecnología y Biología Molecular (IBBM), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Centro Científico Tecnológico – Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CCT-CONICET), La Plata, Argentina
| |
Collapse
|