Production of therapeutic proteins in transgenic cereal crops

Abstract

There is provided a herpes virus vaccine produced in in the seeds of a cereal crop and a method of producing the vaccine. The method comprises: a) obtaining a nucleic acid sequence encoding a herpes virus antigen; b) introducing the nucleic acid sequence into cereal plant tissue competent to form seeds; c) permitting said cereal plant tissue to develop; and, d) directing preferential expression of the antigen encoded by the nucleic acid sequence in seeds formed by the cereal plant tissue. Herpes viruses antigens of particular interest include all or antigenic portions of gB (from human cytomegalovirus (“HCMV”)), gH (from HCMV), and gD (from herpes simplex virus 1 or 2), as well as antigens from Epstein Barr virus and varicello-zoster virus-8. Envelope glycoproteins from herpes viruses are antigens of interest. Cereal crops of particular interest include rice, wheat, oats, barley, and corn. Vaccines produced according to the invention are very stable and may be administered by a variety of routes, including injection and contact with mucosal membranes, such as by oral administration in purified or unpurified form.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.