Plant bioreactors

Abstract

A plant expressing a cytokine and an autoantigen is disclosed. An example of a cytokine is a contra-inflammatory cytokine, for example IL-4 and IL-10, and an example of autoantigen is GAD. A novel method for the production of transgenic proteins of interest suitable for oral administration is also disclosed. Further, non-food crop plants expressing one or more proteins of interest are disclosed, as is a method involving the preparation of a protein of interest suitable for oral administration within a non-food crop plant comprising, transforming the non-food crop plant with a suitable vector containing a gene of interest and appropriate regulatory regions to ensure expression of the gene of interest within the non-food crop plant, such that the non-food crop plant is characterized as being non-toxic, non-addictive, palatable, and requiring minimal or no processing prior to oral administration. An example of a non-food crop plant is low alkaloid tobacco. Proteins of interest may include pharmaceutically active proteins such as growth regulators, insulin, interferons, interleukins, growth hormone, erythropoietin, G-CSF, GM-CSF, hPG-CSF, M-CSF, Factor VIII, Factor IX, tPA, antibodies, antigens and combinations and/or derivatives thereof.

1 - 10 . (canceled)  
     
     
         11 . A composition comprising a plant-expressed cytokine and an autoantigen.  
     
     
         12 . The composition of  claim 11 , wherein said plant-expressed cytokine is a contra-inflammatory cytokine.  
     
     
         13 . The composition of  claim 12 , wherein said contra-inflammatory cytokine is IL-4.  
     
     
         14 . The composition of  claim 13 , wherein said autoantigen is GAD or a fragment thereof.  
     
     
         15 . The composition of  claim 11 , wherein said plant-expressed cytokine and autoantigen are produced in the same plant.  
     
     
         16 . The composition of  claim 11 , wherein said plant-expressed cytokine is produced in a first plant, and said autoantigen is produced in a second plant.  
     
     
         17 - 66 . (canceled)