Review
Immunology
Nasir Mahmood, Sarah Bushra Nasir, Kathleen Hefferon
Summary: The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted our lives, but research on vaccines and antivirals is ongoing, with plant production platforms being utilized for mass production of vaccines and antiviral proteins.
Editorial Material
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
P. Bigini, M. Gobbi, M. Bonati, A. Clavenna, M. Zucchetti, S. Garattini, G. Pasut
Summary: Recent studies have suggested that polyethylene glycol may be a possible cause of anaphylactic reactions to COVID-19 vaccines, but evidence supporting this is contradictory and other factors may be involved.
NATURE NANOTECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Immunology
Srividhya Venkataraman
Summary: This review discusses the molecular virology of major Coronaviruses and the potential role of plant-derived vaccines and drugs in combating viral infections.
Article
Cell Biology
Baoling Ying, Bradley Whitener, Laura A. VanBlargan, Ahmed O. Hassan, Swathi Shrihari, Chieh-Yu Liang, Courtney E. Karl, Samantha Mackin, Rita E. Chen, Natasha M. Kafai, Samuel H. Wilks, Derek J. Smith, Juan Manuel Carreno, Gagandeep Singh, Florian Krammer, Andrea Carfi, Sayda M. Elbashir, Darin K. Edwards, Larissa B. Thackray, Michael S. Diamond
Summary: This study assessed the immunogenicity and protective activity of Moderna mRNA vaccines against different variants of SARS-CoV-2. It found that breakthrough infections and diseases may occur with some variants in individuals with reduced immunity after mRNA vaccination.
SCIENCE TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
(2022)
Review
Immunology
Puna Maya Maharjan, Sunghwa Choe
Summary: The second year of the COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant global human and economic losses, highlighting the urgent need for effective vaccines. Plant-based vaccine development shows promise, with two candidates in clinical trials and potential for rapid production at scale.
Review
Immunology
Benita Ortega-Berlanga, Tomasz Pniewski
Summary: Coronavirus vaccines have become increasingly important, especially with the COVID-19 pandemic. Plant systems provide a low-cost and scalable method for producing coronavirus proteins, which can be used for injection vaccines or as mucosal or oral vaccines.
Review
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Luis Alberto Bravo-Vazquez, Erick Octavio Mora-Hernandez, Alma L. L. Rodriguez, Padmavati Sahare, Anindya Bandyopadhyay, Asim K. K. Duttaroy, Sujay Paul
Summary: Neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs) are a major global health issue characterized by the loss of neurons in the central nervous system. Immunotherapeutic approaches using plant-based antigen expression systems have shown promising results in treating NDDs such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and multiple sclerosis. These plant-made vaccines induce significant immune responses and offer advantages like scalability, absence of human pathogens, cold chain-free production, and lower costs. This article provides an overview of the progress and future prospects of plant-manufactured vaccines for NDDs.
Article
Cell Biology
Yunlong Cao, Ayijiang Yisimayi, Yali Bai, Weijin Huang, Xiaofeng Li, Zhiying Zhang, Tianjiao Yuan, Ran An, Jing Wang, Tianhe Xiao, Shuo Du, Wenping Ma, Liyang Song, Yongzheng Li, Xiang Li, Weiliang Song, Jiajing Wu, Shuo Liu, Xuemei Li, Yonghong Zhang, Bin Su, Xianghua Guo, Yangyang Wei, Chuanping Gao, Nana Zhang, Yifei Zhang, Yang Dou, Xiaoyu Xu, Rui Shi, Bai Lu, Ronghua Jin, Yingmin Ma, Chengfeng Qin, Youchun Wang, Yingmei Feng, Junyu Xiao, Xiaoliang Sunney Xie
Summary: The study found that the diversity of anti-RBD NAbs plays a major role in neutralization against SARS-CoV-2 variants, especially 501Y.V2, with E484K being the dominant cause of neutralization reduction. Specific antibodies respond differently to mutations in RBD variants, with lower diversity observed in NTD antibodies. RBD-subunit vaccinees exhibit higher tolerance to neutralization against variants, while extending the interval between doses of ZF2001 enhances neutralizing activity and tolerance to variants.
Review
Virology
Zacharie LeBlanc, Peter Waterhouse, Julia Bally
Summary: Severe virus outbreaks are happening frequently with rapid and widespread transmission. Preparedness plans based on past epidemics can help in controlling and treating new diseases, but there are gaps in current biologics production systems in responding to emergency situations. Plant-based biologics production systems have commercial viability, low production costs, high scalability, and flexibility, making them potential first responders in emergency pandemic situations.
Article
Plant Sciences
Viktor Olah, Klaus-Juergen Appenroth, Eric Lam, K. Sowjanya Sree
Summary: The 6th International Conference on Duckweed Research and Applications (6th ICDRA) was held from 29 May to 1 June 2022 at the Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK) in Gatersleben, Germany. The conference brought together duckweed specialists from 21 different countries, including a significant number of young researchers. The four-day event focused on various aspects of basic and applied research, as well as the practical applications of duckweed for biomass production.
Editorial Material
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Saranya Sridhar, Roman M. Chicz, William Warren, Jim Tartaglia, Stephen Savarino, Sanjay Gurunathan, Jean-Francois Toussaint
Summary: This article discusses the recent preclinical and clinical data on COVID vaccine antigens that may serve as potential candidates for an updated vaccine.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Virology
Nada Abbadi, Jarrod J. Mousa
Summary: Neuraminidase (NA) is an important surface protein on influenza virions, playing a crucial role in the viral life cycle and being a target of the immune system. Vaccines currently focus on the hemagglutinin (HA) protein, but NA-specific antibodies have shown promise in reducing infection severity. This review summarizes the characteristics of NA, NA-specific antibodies, NA inhibition mechanism, and recent developments in NA-based influenza vaccines.
Article
Immunology
Elizabeth Monreal-Escalante, Abel Ramos-Vega, Carlos Angulo, Bernardo Banuelos-Hernandez
Summary: This review article describes the use of plants as biofactories for vaccine production. Only a few plant-produced vaccines have been evaluated in clinical trials, with COVID-19 vaccines being the most recent ones approved by the FDA. The article also discusses the main strategies for antigen design and high antigen production levels, along with providing perspectives.
Article
Immunology
Chiao-Hsuan Chao, Dayna Cheng, Sheng-Wen Huang, Yung-Chun Chuang, Trai-Ming Yeh, Jen-Ren Wang
Summary: This study collected serum samples from 113 Taiwan participants after receiving different SARS-CoV-2 vaccines and compared the differences in immune responses. The results showed that mRNA vaccines elicited higher levels of antibodies and had higher broadly neutralizing ability compared to AZD1222. Additionally, the study found a significant increase in anti-ACE2 autoantibodies after vaccination.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Dario G. Frisio, Vera Ventura
Summary: Plant-based vaccine production has shown positive growth in the past five years, with the United States leading in patent registrations. Private firms play a key role in innovative activities in this sector, particularly those involved in the successful development of COVID-19 vaccine candidates.