title: Production of camel-like antibodies in plants.
abstract: Transgenic plants for the production of high-value recombinant complex and/or glycosylated proteins are a promising alternative for conventional systems, such as mammalian cells and bacteria. Many groups use plants as production platform for antibodies and antibody fragments. Here, we describe how bivalent camel-like antibodies can be produced in leaves and seeds. Camel-like antibodies are fusions of the antigen-binding domain of heavy chain camel antibodies (VHH) with an Fc fragment of choice. Transient expression in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves allows the production of VHH-Fc antibodies within a few days after the expression plasmid has been obtained. Generation of stable Arabidopsis thaliana transformants allows production of scalable amounts of VHH-Fc antibodies in seeds within a year. Further, we describe how the in planta-produced VHH-Fc antibodies can be quantified by Western blot analysis with Fc-specific antibodies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Systems Biology, VIB, Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Sylvie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: De Buck
authors.forename: Vikram
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Virdi
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: De Meyer
authors.forename: Kirsten
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: De Wilde
authors.forename: Robin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Piron
authors.forename: Jonah
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nolf
authors.forename: Els
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Van Lerberge
authors.forename: Annelies
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: De Paepe
authors.forename: Ann
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Depicker
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D023061:Gene Order; D005822:Genetic Vectors / Q000235:genetics; D007143:Immunoglobulin Heavy Chains / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D012639:Seeds / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D014026:Nicotiana / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D014170:Transformation, Genetic
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D007143:Immunoglobulin Heavy Chains; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins