Passive oral rice-based antibody prophylaxis and therapy against rotavirus infection (106.19)

• Published in: JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY Vol. 186; no. 1_Supplement; pp. 106 - 106.19
• Main Authors: Tokuhara, Daisuke, Gonzalez, Beatriz, Mejima, Mio, Takahashi, Yuko, Kurokawa, Shiho, Hiroiwa, Tomoko, Kuroda, Masaharu, Oyama, Masaaki, Kozuka-Hata, Hiroko, Nochi, Tomonori, Aladin, Farah, Marcotte, Harold, Frenken, Leon, Iturriza, Miren, Kiyono, Hiroshi, Hammarstrom, Lennart, Yuki, Yoshikazu
• Format: Journal Article Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: 01.04.2011
• Subjects: Medicin och hälsovetenskap
• ISSN: 0022-1767; 1550-6606
• DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.186.Supp.106.19

Abstract Rotavirus-induced diarrhea is a life-threatening disease in children in developing countries. We have developed a novel system for prophylaxis and therapy against rotavirus using transgenic rice expressing the neutralizing variable domain of llama heavy-chain antibody fragments against rhesus-monkey rotavirus serotype G3P (MucoRice-ARP1). MucoRice-ARP1 was produced at high levels in rice seeds using an overexpression system and RNAi technology to suppress the production of major rice endogenous storage proteins. MucoRice-ARP1 was water-soluble and expressed in protein body II as a rice storage organelle and cytoplasm between protein bodies of in rice. We confirmed the full sequence of 123 amino acids of ARP1 by mass spectrometry. MucoRice-ARP1 neutralized human RV strains (ST-3 G4P[6], 69M G8P[10], F45 G9P[8], P G3P[8] and Va70 G4P[8]) in vitro. When administered orally, MucoRice-ARP1 markedly decreased the prevalence of diarrhea and viral load in a murine pup model. Long-term storage (>1yr) at room temperature of MucoRice-ARP1 did not impair its in vivo neutralizing activity. Oral MucoRice-ARP1 thus offer a novel cost-effective approach to prevent and treat rotavirus-induced diarrhea not only in children but also in adults who would not be expected to respond to the live attenuated vaccine.