Pharm Crops for Vaccines and Therapeutic Antibodies

[Guest guest]

> 31 Aug 2004 17:31:24 -0000> Pharm Crops for Vaccines and Therapeutic> Antibodies> press-release > > The Institute of Science in Society Science Society > Sustainability http://www.i-sis.org.uk> > General Enquiries sam Website/Mailing> List > press-release ISIS Director> m.w.ho >========================================================> > > ISIS Press Release 31/08/04 > Pharm Crops for Vaccines and Therapeutic Antibodies> ******************************************> > Prof. Joe Cummins warns of special health impacts of> vaccine > and antibodies in pharm crops The extensive> references to > this article are posted on ISIS members' website. > http://www.i-sis.org.uk/full/pbvataFull.php > Details here. > http://www.i-sis.org.uk/membership.php> > Reckless disregard of known risks The European Union> (EU) > recently announced a major program to produce> plant-based > vaccines and therapeutic antibodies [1], despite the> risks > that came to public attention two years ago [2]. The> crops > plants currently used to produce vaccines include> tobacco, > maize, potato, tomato, rice and alfalfa. In spite of> the > threat to the food supply, maize is a favorite crop> for > vaccine production because the transgenic protein> can be > concentrated in the kernels. In general, field-test> releases > of crop plants modified for vaccine production have> been > undertaken with little regard for the health and > environmental consequences of contaminating food> crop with > the vaccine genes.> > Risks of vaccine proteins and antibodies Vaccines> are made > using antigen proteins from disease organisms such> as > viruses or bacteria to elicit production of> antibodies > following injection into the blood stream or> ingestion with > food. Plant-based vaccines are mainly produced from > synthetic transgenes whose DNA code words have been> altered > for maximal activity in a crop plant [3]. Apart from> > vaccines, antibodies are also produced in plants for> > treating both animal and plant diseases. These> antibodies > are effective, but plagued by the powerful immune> response > to the antibodies themselves following repeated> exposure. > > Plant-based vaccines are mainly geared towards> mucosal > immunization following oral intake. Oral vaccines> may elicit > oral tolerance on repetitive exposure. Oral> tolerance is the > animal's defence against antigens in food. Thus,> after > repeated exposure to an oral antigen, the mucosal> immune > system ceases to view the antigen as such, leaving> the > animal susceptible to the pathogen for which the> vaccine is > supposed to protect against [4]. The problem of oral> > tolerance has been mentioned in at least one review> of > plant-based vaccines [5]. Oral tolerance has been> used to > treat autoimmune disease such as diabetes by feeding> > patients with plants producing an antigen eliciting> the > autoimmune response [6]. Oral tolerance to pathogens> is one > main threat from the contamination of our food> supply with > vaccine genes, whereas therapeutic antibodies> threaten a > direct immune response; these two impacts are seldom> > discussed by promoters of plant genetic modification> or by > science journals reporting the studies. > > Risks from synthetic genes and viral vectors Edible> plant-> based vaccines have been produced with synthetic> nuclear > genes, synthetic chloroplast genes or plant viruses> modified > with synthetic genes. These synthetic genes are> completely > unknown and untested for toxicities. The nuclear> transgenes > frequently failed to produce sufficient protein to> evoke an > oral immune response, while chloroplast transgenes> tended to > provide adequate protein levels. (Chloroplasts allow> > insertion of multiple transgene copies, with less> problem of > gene-silencing than nuclear transgene insertions). > Chloroplast transformations produced antigens at> high > levels, up to 25% of total soluble protein while> nuclear > inserts generally produced less than 1% total> soluble > protein. The endosperm localization of nuclear gene> products > can boost antigen levels to 10% of protein in maize> kernels > [7]. Numerous plant viruses modified with vaccine> antigens > have been released in field tests. Such viruses can> produce > vaccine antigen up to10% total soluble protein in> the > infected plant but 1% is most frequent [8]. Little > consideration has been given to containment of these> GM > viruses in field tests. They can be spread by> sucking > insects, plant wounding or by wind-blown plant> debris. A > recent study shows that plant viruses may be spread> by wind, > either in water droplets from the plant surface or> by > abrasive contact between plant leaves [9]. Box 1> provides a > list of 30 human and animal diseases for which> plant-based > vaccines have been created. It is worth mentioning> that > about half of the transgenic vaccines on the list> were > produced using plant viruses as vectors, including> tobacco > mosaic virus, cowpea mosaic virus, alfalfa mosaic> virus, > potato virus X, plum pox poty virus and tomato bushy> stunt > virus. The virus constructions are productive but> pose > special long-term risks associated with the release> of the > virus to the environment and predictable viral> recombination > to produce novel disease agents. Little effort has> been made > to monitor these hazardous experiments.> > > Box 1 > Plant-based vaccines [8] Disease agents Species > protected > 1. Enterotoxigenic strains of E. coli humans & > farmed animals > 2. Vibrio cholerae/ Cholera toxin B subunit > humans > 3. Enteropathogenic E. coli/ Pilus structural> subunit > A humans > 4. Vibrio cholerae/ Cholera toxin B subunit, > rotavirus humans > 5. Enterotoxigenic strains of E. coli humans > 6. Hepatitis B virus/ Surface antigen humans > 7. Hepatitis C virus/ Hypervariable region 1 of> envelope > protein 2 fused to cholera toxin humans > 8. Norwalk virus > & Rotavirus humans > 9. Measles/ Haemagglutinin protein humans > 10. HIV-1/ Peptide of gp41 protein humans > 11. HIV-1/ V3 loop of gp120 protein humans > 12. HIV-1/ Peptide of > transmembrane protein gp41 humans > 13. HIV-1/ Nucleocapsid protein p24 humans > 14. Cytomegalovirus/ Glycoprotein B humans > . Rhinovirus type 14/ Peptide of VP1 protein > humans > 16. Respiratory syncytial virus/ Peptides of G > protein humans > 17. Staphylococcus aureus/ D2 peptide of > bronectin-binding protein FnBP humans > 18. Pseudomonas aeruginosa/ Peptides of> outer-membrane > humans > 19. Protein F Plasmodium falciparum (malaria) & > Peptides of > circumsporozoite protein humans > 20. Human papillomavirus > type 16/ E7 oncoprotein humans > 21. Bacillus anthracis/ > Protective antigen humans > 22. Rabies virus/ Glycoprotein humans, domestic & > wild animals > 23. Foot-and-mouth disease virus/ Structural protein> VP1 > farmed animals > 24. Transmissible gastroenteritis virus/> Glycoprotein pigs > 25. Bovine group A rotavirus/ Major capsid protein> VP6 > cattle > 26. Mannheimia haemolytica (bovine pneumonia > teurellosis)/ Leukotoxin fused to green fluorescent> protein > cattle > 27. Mink enteritis virus/ Peptide of capsid protein > VP2mink, dogs & cats > 28. Rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus/ Structural> protein > VP60 rabbits > 29. Rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus rabbits > 30. Canine arvovirus/ Peptide of capsid protein VP2 > dogs > > Numerous plant based therapeutic antibodies for> treating > human, animal and plant diseases have been created> and > released in field tests. The antibodies are made> from > synthetic antibody genes and they are also greatly > influenced by the pattern of glycosylation (sugar > modification of protein) produced in the plant [10].> Further > examples of plant-based antibodies include mice> monoclonal > antibodies that confer resistance to a herbicide by> binding > to it, thus inactivating the herbicide [11]. The> antibody-> bound herbicide was inactivated but not destroyed,> and its > ultimate fate is unknown; presumably it would be> consumed > with the transgenic crop. Kholer and Milstein> discovered a > method for preparing monoclonal antibodies in 1975> [12]. > That discovery has made an exceptional contribution> to the > development of clinical analytical technology and to> > therapy, but that application has not fulfilled the > expectation of a "magic bullet" for treating disease> because > the antibodies provoked a strong immune response if> applied > repeatedly.> > Risks from cancer and HIV vaccines In the reviews> mentioned > previously, numerous plant-based vaccines for> treating > infectious diseases have been described [7,8]. I> shall now > focus on cancer vaccines and vaccines against human > immunodeficiency virus (HIV). A vaccine against a> colorectal > cancer was produced in tobacco plants [13], as was a> vaccine > for treating non-Hodgkins lymphoma [14]. A vaccine> against > the papilloma virus oncogene product causing human> cervical > cancer was produced using a potato virus-X vector> carrying > an antigen of the viral oncogene-encoded protein> [15]. These > cancer vaccines are an important effort to control> cancer, > but careless environmental release of the vaccines> in crop > plants could greatly increase people's> susceptibility to > specific cancers through the development of oral> tolerance. > > The Gag gene from Simian Immunodeficiency virus> (SIV) a > surrogate for HIV, was used to transform potato> [16]. In > that experiment, the native SIV gene was used rather> than a > plant enhanced synthetic copy. Failure to alter the> genetic > code to the form most active in plants may explain> the > relatively low production of Gag protein. In another> > experiment, the coat protein of alfalfa mosaic virus> was > modified to express antigenic peptides for rabies> virus and > HIV. Antibodies against rabies and HIV were> expressed in > mice immunized with the antigenic peptides [17].> Simian-> human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV) tat gene was> fused to > the cholera toxin subunit gene and the combination> was used > to transform potato and the fusion protein was found> > suitable for mucosal immunization [18]. In none of> the above > publications was the potential danger of the> horizontal > spread and recombination of the virus genes> discussed.> > A number of technical enhancements have been> attempted to > enhance the vaccine antigen production in plants.> Codon > usage enhancement has been mentioned [3]. Various > combinations of promoters and enhancers were used to> boost > expression of a gene from rabbit hemorrhagic virus> in potato > [19]. The potato patatin promoter proved more> effective than > the CaMV or the ubiquitin promoter. Ricin B, a> lectin sub-> unit of the deadly poison ricin, has been proposed> as a > delivery adjuvant for mucosal vaccines [20]. At> least as far > as the published information is concerned,> plant-based > vaccines and antibodies are far from ready for major> > commercial production. Production of plant-based> vaccines in > primary food crops such as maize and rice is> extremely > unwise on environmental and health grounds, but a> recent > publication indicates that maize, at least, is still> > promoted by crop plant vaccine promoters [21]. > > Regulators must put the brakes on firmly now In> conclusion, > there has been extensive creation and field tests of> plant-> based vaccines and therapeutic antibodies, with> little care > given to the environmental and health consequences> of the > field releases. The major accidental exposures of> the public > that have come to light have done little to dampen> the > accelerating pace of development and testing, most> of which > are taking place in secret away from public> scrutiny. We are > heading towards a monumental poisoning of our> primary food > supply, unless the regulators put the brakes on> firmly now.> > >========================================================> > This article can be found on the I-SIS website at > http://www.i-sis.org.uk/pbvata.php> > If you like this original article from the Institute> of > Science in Society, and would like to continue> receiving > articles of this calibre, please consider making a> donation > or purchase on our website> > http://www.i-sis.org.uk/donations. > > ISIS is an independent, not-for-profit organisation > dedicated to providing critical public information> on > cutting edge science, and to promoting social> accountability > and ecological sustainability in science.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://vanokat.wholefoodfarmacy.com/

LOVE PEOPLE AND USE THINGS -

NOT LOVE THINGS AND USE PEOPLE.Have nothing to do with the evil deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. Ephesians 5:11

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places." (Eph. 6:12).