Methods and substances for preventing and treating autoimmune disease

Abstract

A plant-based edible vaccine against autoimmune disease prepared by expressing a CTB-autoantigen chimeric gene construct in plant cells and transgenic plants is disclosed. DNA constructs, expression vectors comprising a nucleotide sequence that encodes a CTB-autoantigen chimeric gene, which are optimized for expression in plants, are described.

1 . A polynucleotide comprising a cholera toxin coding sequence and two or more than two different mammalian autoantigen coding sequences.  
     
     
         2 . A plant cell transformed with the polynucleotide according to  claim 1;   where the polynucleotide further comprises at least one promoter for expression in a plant cell.    
     
     
         3 . A transgenic plant transformed with the polynucleotide according to  claim 1;   where the polynucleotide further comprises at least one promoter for expression in a plant cell.    
     
     
         4 . A method for preparing an autoantigen in a plant cell comprising: 
 growing plant cells transformed with the polynucleotide according to  claim 1;     where the polynucleotide further comprises at least one promoter for expression in a plant cell.    
     
     
         5 . A method for preparing an autoantigen in a transgenic plant comprising: 
 transforming a plant with the polynucleotide according to  claim 1 , where the polynucleotide further comprises at least one promoter for expression in a plant cell; and    allowing the plant to express the autoantigen.    
     
     
         6 . A vector comprising the polynucleotide according to  claim 1 .  
     
     
         7 . The vector of  claim 6 , where the polynucleotide further comprises at least one promoter for expression in a plant cell.  
     
     
         8 . The polynucleotide according to  claim 1 , where at least one of the two different autoantigens encoded by the autoantigen coding sequences is glutamic acid decarboxylase.  
     
     
         9 . The polynucleotide according to  claim 1 , where at least one of the two different autoantigens encoded by the autoantigen coding sequences is insulin.  
     
     
         10 . The polynucleotide according to  claim 1 , where at least one of the two different autoantigens encoded by the autoantigen coding sequences comprises at least two epitopes.  
     
     
         11 . A polynucleotide comprising a cholera toxin coding sequence and two or more than two copies of the same mammalian autoantigen coding sequences; 
 where the autoantigen acts to downregulate at least part of the immune system of the mammal that is responsible for causing the autoimmune disease.    
     
     
         12 . A plant cell transformed with the polynucleotide according to  claim 11;   where the polynucleotide further comprises at least one promoter for expression in a plant cell.    
     
     
         13 . A transgenic plant transformed with the polynucleotide according to  claim 11;   where the polynucleotide further comprises at least one promoter for expression in a plant cell.    
     
     
         14 . A method for preparing an autoantigen in a plant cell comprising: 
 growing plant cells transformed with the polynucleotide according to  claim 11;     where the polynucleotide further comprises at least one promoter for expression in a plant cell.    
     
     
         15 . A method for preparing an autoantigen in a transgenic plant comprising: 
 transforming a plant with the polynucleotide according to  claim 11 , where the polynucleotide further comprises at least one promoter for expression in a plant cell; and    allowing the plant to express the autoantigen.    
     
     
         16 . A vector comprising the polynucleotide according to  claim 11 .  
     
     
         17 . The vector of  claim 16 , where the polynucleotide further comprises at least one promoter for expression in a plant cell.  
     
     
         18 . The polynucleotide according to  claim 11 , where the autoantigen encoded by the autoantigen coding sequence is glutamic acid decarboxylase.  
     
     
         19 . The polynucleotide according to  claim 11 , where the autoantigen encoded by the autoantigen coding sequence is insulin.  
     
     
         20 . The polynucleotide according to  claim 11 , where the autoantigen encoded by the autoantigen coding sequence comprises at least two epitopes.