He Junyun, Lai Huafang, Brock Christopher, Chen Qiang
The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA.
J Biomed Biotechnol. 2012;2012:106783. doi: 10.1155/2012/106783. Epub 2011 Dec 4.
The threat of West Nile virus (WNV) epidemics necessitates the development of a technology platform that can produce reagents to support detection and diagnosis rapidly and inexpensively. A plant expression system is attractive for protein production due to its low-cost and high-scalability nature and its ability to make appropriate posttranslational modifications. Here, we investigated the feasibility of using plants to produce two WNV detection and diagnostic reagents to address the current cost and scalability issues. We demonstrated that WNV DIII antigen and E16 monoclonal antibody are rapidly produced at high levels in two plant species and are easily purified. Furthermore, they are effective in identifying WNV and in detecting human IgM response to WNV infection. E16 mAb does not cross-react with other flaviviruses, therefore, is valuable for improving diagnostic accuracy. This study provides a proof of principle for using plants as a robust and economical system to produce diagnostic reagents for arboviruses.
西尼罗河病毒（WNV）流行的威胁使得有必要开发一种技术平台，该平台能够快速且低成本地生产用于支持检测和诊断的试剂。植物表达系统因其低成本、高扩展性以及进行适当翻译后修饰的能力，对于蛋白质生产具有吸引力。在此，我们研究了利用植物生产两种WNV检测和诊断试剂以解决当前成本和扩展性问题的可行性。我们证明了WNV DIII抗原和E16单克隆抗体在两种植物物种中能够快速高水平产生且易于纯化。此外，它们在鉴定WNV以及检测人类对WNV感染的IgM反应方面是有效的。E16单克隆抗体不与其他黄病毒发生交叉反应，因此对于提高诊断准确性具有重要价值。本研究为利用植物作为一种强大且经济的系统来生产虫媒病毒诊断试剂提供了原理证明。
