title: Ability of orally administered IFN-alpha-containing transgenic potato extracts to inhibit Listeria monocytogenes infection.
abstract: Type I interferons (IFN-alpha/beta) were originally thought to be antiviral cytokines, but it has recently been reported that they also play an important role in potentiating innate and adaptive immune responses. Moreover, several studies have shown that the oral administration of type I IFN ameliorates various biologic activities. Here, we studied the ability of orally administered IFN-alpha to protect mice from systemic Listeria monocytogenes infection. Daily oral administration of purified natural IFN-alpha at a concentration of 1000 international units (IU)/20 microl reduced the bacterial burden in infected organs. We also examined the protective effect of IFN-alpha expressed in transgenic potato plants. A much lower concentration of IFN-alpha (20 IU/ 20 microl) in the plant extracts was almost as protective as much higher concentrations of purified natural IFN-alpha. Our observations indicate that transgenic cytokine-expressing plants can be used prophylactically as edible pharmaceuticals to enhance systemic defense responses in humans and animals.
authors.affiliation: Department of Disease Control, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0818, Japan.
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ohya
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Matsumura
authors.forename: Noriko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Itchoda
authors.forename: Kazuhiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ohashi
authors.forename: Misao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Onuma
authors.forename: Chihiro
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sugimoto
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008089:Listeria monocytogenes / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D008088:Listeriosis / Q000097:blood / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D011198:Solanum tuberosum / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D016898:Interferon-alpha; D010936:Plant Extracts