Production of Human Interferon in Lettuce

Human interferon-beta (HuIFN-beta) is a compound known to have anti-viral and medical properties and has been proven to be an effective treatment for relapsing multiple sclerosis. HuIFN-beta is commercially produced using microorganisms. Because the demand for the compound is continually increasing, alternative production systems are being explored.

Plant systems are considered good systems for biological drug production. A paper published by a group of Chinese researchers details how they were able to produce HuIFN-beta compounds using transgenic Japanese Glass Lettuce. This is the first report on the successful production of the biologically active therapeutic proteins produced by Agrobacterium mediated transient expression in the crop.

 The researchers have determined that the HuIFN-beta expressed in lettuce leaves have a high biological activity (3.1 x 104 IU/mL). Their results suggest that the development of an efficient, inexpensive and small-scaled plant expression system for the production of therapeutic protein is possible.

The abstract, with links to the full paper for subscribers to the journal Scientiae Horticulturae, can be accessed at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2006.12.047.