Antibody Production in Plants and Green Algae

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing
• Molecular Biology
• Immunology

Background:

• Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are crucial in research, diagnostics, and therapeutics, with a continuously growing market demand.
• Current mammalian production systems for recombinant mAbs face limitations in scalability and high costs.
• Alternative systems like bacteria, yeast, and insect cells are scalable and cost-effective but have limitations in post-translational modifications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the advancements and potential of using plants and green algae as production platforms for monoclonal antibodies.
• To highlight the advantages of plant-based and algae-based mAb production over traditional systems.
• To discuss the progress of plant- and algae-derived mAbs, particularly for therapeutic applications.

Main Methods:

• Review of current literature on mAb production in plant and algal systems.
• Analysis of the capabilities of these systems for post-translational protein modification.
• Evaluation of the efficacy of plant- and algae-derived mAbs in preclinical and clinical studies.

Main Results:

• Plants and green algae offer efficient, scalable, and cost-effective mAb production.
• These eukaryotic systems possess the necessary machinery for appropriate post-translational modifications.
• Plant- and algae-derived mAbs have shown promise as therapeutics, particularly for infectious diseases and cancer, with some candidates progressing to clinical trials.

Conclusions:

• Plants and algae are emerging as highly promising platforms for the biomanufacturing of monoclonal antibodies.
• These systems provide a viable alternative to mammalian production, addressing cost and scalability challenges.
• Continued advancements in plant and algal biotechnology are expected to further enhance mAb production for therapeutic use.