Nature Biotechnology
16, 1361 - 1364 (1998)
doi:10.1038/4344
A humanized monoclonal antibody produced in transgenic plants for immunoprotection
of the vagina against genital herpesLarry Zeitlin1, Stuart S. Olmsted2, Thomas R. Moench1, Man Sung Co4, Brian J. Martinell3, Vikram M. Paradkar3, David R. Russell3, Cary Queen4, Richard A. Cone1, 2
& Kevin J. Whaley1, 21
ReProtect, LLC, Baltimore, MD
and 2
The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore
, MD. 3
Agracetus Campus, Monsanto Co., Middleton
, WI. 4
Protein Design Labs, Mountain View,
CA.
Correspondence should be addressed to Kevin J. Whaley whale@jhu.eduapplied immunologyagricultural biotechnologyimmunizationThe ability to produce monoclonal antibodies (Mabs) in plants offers the
opportunity for the development of an inexpensive method of mucosal immunoprotection
against sexually transmitted diseases. To investigate the suitability of plant-expressed
Mabs for vaginal preventive applications, we compared a humanized anti−herpes
simplex virus 2 (HSV-2) Mab expressed in mammalian cell culture with the same
antibody expressed in soybean. We found these Mabs to be similar in their
stability in human semen and cervical mucus over 24 h, their ability to diffuse
in human cervical mucus, and their efficacy for prevention of vaginal HSV-2
infection in the mouse.
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