Puumala virus nucleocapsid protein expressed in transgenic plants is not immunogenic after oral administration

Transgenic plants expressing foreign genes are suitable systems for the production of relevant immunogens in high amounts that can be used to develop a new generation of vaccines against a variety of infectious diseases. Transgenic tobacco and potato plants expressing the nucleocapsid protein of Hantavirus serotype Puumala were generated and established. Puumala virus is a human pathogen causing hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome. To investigate oral immunogenicity of the nucleocapsid protein expressed in plants, mice were fed with tubers of transgenic potato and tobacco leaf powder. The resulting antibodies were compared among groups. No significant difference could be found between the control group and the groups of animals, which had been fed with the recombinant plants expressing Puumala nucleocapsid protein. Hence, the effect of different enzymes, present in the gastro-intestinal tract, on the plant-derived antigen was investigated. It was found that the recombinant viral protein was completely degraded by trypsin and/or pepsin. In conclusion, the enzymes present in the intestine can degrade major antigenic domains of antigens, expressed in transgenic plants, thus preventing the induction of antibodies against the ingested viral antigen.