Chloroplast expression of an HIV envelop-derived multiepitope protein: Towards a multivalent plant-based vaccine

Abstract

The development of a vaccine is still a priority in the fight against human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS). Since conventional vaccine strategies have failed to provide a highly immunoprotective effect, approaches based on the rational design of vaccines composed of multiple HIV neutralizing epitopes have been proposed as potential vaccines. The aim of this study is to design a multiepitopic protein (Multi-HIV) carrying several neutralizing epitopes from both gp120 and gp41 as an effort to develop a new broad immunization scheme against HIV. This Multi-HIV was initially produced in a recombinant Escherichia coli strain either as a single protein or fused to glutathione-S-transferase. These proteins were purified by immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography and shown to be antigenic by positive reactivity in Western blot analyses using sera from HIV-positive patients for labeling. Since global immunization strategies are often limited by costs, platforms that require minimal processing are the priority in this field. Therefore, we explored the possibility of using transplastomic tobacco plants as an experimental model of a low cost plant-based vaccine against HIV. Transplastomic tobacco plants carrying the multi-HIV gene were developed and verified by PCR analyses. The expected Multi-HIV recombinant protein was localized in the chloroplast as proven first by confocal microscopy and subsequently by Western blot analysis. Tobacco-derived Multi-HIV protein was clearly able to evoke humoral responses in mice when orally administered without adjuvants. This report constitutes an effort to explore a new low-cost candidate that could have future implications on the development of affordable HIV vaccines. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.