Production and Applications of Plant-Produced Antibodies

Matthew D. Smith, Bernard R. Glick

Department of Biology, University of Waterloo Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3G1

Article history:
Received September 9, 1997
Accepted September 23, 1997

Key words:
monoclonal antibodies, transgenic plants, immunotherapy, plant immunization, intracellular immunomodulation

Summary:
Plant biotechnology and antibody engineering have combined in recent years to provide many exciting new opportunities for plant molecular biology. Specifically, transgenic plants now have the potential to be used for generating large amounts of antibody for use in therapeutics and diagnostics. Alternatively, plant-produced antibodies can be used to alter existing plant biochemical pathways or to effectively immunize plants against pathogens or viral infections. Indeed, many different monoclonal antibodies and their derivatives have already been produced in plants for a variety of applications. However, before plant-produced antibodies can be safely utilized for immunotherapy or any other application, a number of concerns need to be addressed including the factors affecting subcellular localization of antibodies and the effects of plant glycosylalion patterns on antibody activity and immunogenicity.