Pharming and transgenic plants.

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology
• Molecular Biology
• Pharmacology

Background:

• Historically, plants were central to pharmacopoeia before chemical synthesis dominated pharmaceutical production.
• Genetic engineering now utilizes microbial and animal cells for therapeutic protein manufacturing.
• Molecular farming has positioned plants as significant platforms for recombinant protein production.

Purpose of the Study:

• To highlight the advantages of using plants for therapeutic protein production.
• To discuss the advancements in plant-based expression systems.
• To evaluate the potential of plants as alternatives to traditional biomanufacturing.

Main Methods:

• Review of current literature on plant-based recombinant protein production.
• Analysis of plant capabilities for post-translational modifications.
• Comparison of plant systems with microbial fermentation and mammalian cell cultures.

Main Results:

• Plant-based production of therapeutic proteins is safe and cost-effective.
• Plants perform essential post-translational modifications, unlike microbial systems.
• Plants lack human viruses and prions, unlike mammalian cell cultures.
• Ongoing research aims to enhance yield and quality of plant-made pharmaceuticals.

Conclusions:

• Plants offer a safe, cost-effective, and efficient system for producing pharmaceuticals.
• Advancements in controlling post-translational modifications in plants will improve recombinant protein quality.
• Plant expression systems are becoming viable alternatives to animal cell factories for biopharmaceutical production.