New vaccine is made from tobacco

Scientists have used a new vaccine production technology to develop a vaccine for norovirus, which causes diarrhea and vomiting, the second most common virus infection in the United States after the flu . Sometimes called the "ship virus", this bacterium can spread as quickly as wildfire through large ships, schools, offices and military bases.

The new vaccine has a very special origin - it is 'produced' in a tobacco plant using an excited plant virus. Researchers are listing plants in the fight for norovirus, swine flu, bird flu and other infectious diseases. This plant biotechnology opens up a new direction for fast and effective ways to make vaccines, especially at critical moments when the virus turns into unpredictable new strains, Dr. Charles Arntzen, who reported on this topic at the 238th national meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS).

Arntzen said: 'The recent outbreak of H1N1 flu has once again reminded us of the possibility of mutating into new and dangerous forms of pathogens. It will take at least 6 months before a vaccine for this new virus strain is released, and the time it takes to produce a large amount of vaccine is even longer. In cases like the H1N1 influenza virus, you want to act quickly and introduce a commercial vaccine in the shortest time possible. We believe we have a big advantage in using stimulated plant viruses to accelerate vaccine production in a few weeks instead of months. '

Norovirus is always mutated, making it an ever-changing target of vaccine developers. Arntzen said this is a major obstacle for large pharmaceutical companies, which may consider developing a vaccine. Production costs will be very high when only one type of disease often requires new vaccines, while those must be tested for safety and efficacy. Therefore, vaccines do not exist for some diseases that are spread in a very large number of people each year. Arntzen stresses that biotechnology can create cheaper and faster vaccine production technology, and is perfectly suited to fight viruses like norovirus and flu virus.

Norovirus temporarily controlled patients, causing diarrhea and nausea for about 3 days. Although there is no life-threatening nature like influenza, Arntzen says the virus needs special attention.

'This virus can be closed by hospitals, schools, health care centers and even homes for the elderly. In the case of the military, it could stop a warship completely or slow down military operations while disinfection takes place. Because the disease spread so quickly, it will leave serious economic consequences due to commercial disruption and daily life, ' Arntzen said.

Picture 1 of New vaccine is made from tobacco In his lab, Charles Arntzen is holding a modified tobacco plant to create a vaccine against diseases like 'marine virus', which causes diarrhea and vomiting. (Photo: Charles Arntzen)

Norovirus will continue to develop into new strains, so Arntzen's team designed a vaccine production cycle fast enough to keep up with the virus's progress and other viruses. Arntzen explained: 'With plant vaccines, we can produce the first amount of medicine for medical testing within 8 to 10 weeks. We can easily scale up production to commercialize within 2 to 4 months'.

Plant vaccines also provide a cost advantage. The construction of greenhouses is certainly more cost-effective than sterilization facilities, money-producing technologies and stainless steel tanks needed for transplanting insect or mammalian cells used in traditional vaccines.

Arntzen adds: 'Other cost advantages are related to refining and formulation of vaccine formulations. Purifying from plant extracts is much simpler because there are no infectious agents to clean. There is also no virus in plants that can infect humans, so you don't need to worry about virus removal '.

The team restructured plant viruses to produce large amounts of specially designed nanoparticles like viruses in tobacco plants. At about 25 nanometers in diameter, these particles are about the same size as the norovirus, but they only contain the outer layer of protein - the part of the virus that the human immune system can recognize. This element does not contain a virus infection, but they can stimulate an immune response to fight true infection.

To counteract each new strain of norovirus and to retain its resistance to older strains, Arntzen said it can be upgraded every 12 to 18 months. After successful experiments in mice, his team is developing a transport system for virus-like nanoparticles. Arntzen hopes to begin medical trials at the end of 2009 or early 2010.

Some companies, especially Bayer pharmaceutical company, are investing in new facilities to make plant vaccines for cancer, as well as other pharmaceutical proteins. Arntzen said that the first plant vaccine will be available in the market in the next 4 to 5 years. He said: 'Insect and mammalian-based vaccines have been tried and adjusted - some have remained almost unchanged for 60 years.' But that does not mean that they are optimal in terms of flexibility or production costs. That just means that the pharmaceutical industry is not familiar with the use of plant biotechnology.

'Uncertainty or doubts about how such products will be evaluated during the FDA inspection cycle have created fears for large pharmaceutical companies; and fear and uncertainty are often the factors that put an end to the development of a product and lead to hundreds of millions of dollars in damage. However, this product line is gradually gaining FDA approval and will definitely change these ideas in the coming years. '

Update 14 December 2018

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