Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma Vaccine from GM Tobacco

Genetically modified tobacco can act as a speedy and safe antibiotic factory for personalized treatment against non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, according to new findings from the Stanford University School of Medicine. Follicular Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) has become the most common hematologic malignancy (blood or bone marrow cancer) in the United States with an estimated 54,000 new cases each year. It affects the B-cells, a type of lymphocytes or white blood cells that play a large role in antibody-mediated immunity.

NHL starts when a single immune cell displays uncontrolled growth, making multiple clones of itself. The clones carry a specific antibody not found on any of the body’s healthy cells. Plants are engineered to produce the specific antibody. In this case, Levy and his team infected the tobacco plants with modified tobacco mosaic virus carrying the antibody gene. When introduced to someone diagnosed with NHL, the plant-derived vaccine stimulates the patient’s immune system to find and destroy the malignant cells.

In addition, the scientists found out that the way plants attach sugar molecules to the antibody, during biochemical processing, does not impair the immunogenicity or affect the safety of the vaccines. The study presents the first human tests of an injectable vaccine produced from plants.

The paper published by PNAS is available at http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2008/07/18/0803636105.abstract. For more information, read http://med.stanford.edu/news_releases/2008/july/plant-vaccine.html