Development of tobacco chloroplast vector with novel insertion sites for dengue virus (DENV) antigens

Dengue virus (DENV) is a substantial global health threat with no specific antiviral treatment available. The development of effective vaccines is crucial to combat DENV infections. Plant-based expression systems, such as tobacco chloroplasts, have emerged as promising platforms for the production of DENV antigens. In this research article, we describe the construction of a tobacco chloroplast vector with novel insertion sites for DENV-1 protein III. Our present study successfully demonstrated the production of the envelope protein structural domain III (EDIII) dengue virus antigen in tobacco chloroplasts. We obtained transformed tobacco lines that show the expression of EDIII dengue antigen and were confirmed through Southern blotting analysis. Furthermore, the expression of EDIII antigen was further confirmed via immunoblotting and quantified. These findings suggest that tobacco chloroplast engineering holds promise as a method for future manufacture of an oral dengue boost vaccine that is safe, affordable, and effective, contributing to the global management and control of this particular dengue infection.