表达具有工业或药用价值的外源蛋白的转基因植物是替代发酵生产系统的经济方法。在植物中暂时或稳定表达外源基因已产生了一些疫苗。最近的研究表明,细菌性和病毒性病原体抗原的编码基因可在植物中表达,且表达的抗原仍保留天然免疫原性。表达细菌抗原的转基因土豆块茎作为食物摄入后,能激发体液和粘膜免疫应答。这些结果为植物用作疫苗生产载体提供了基础。 Transgenic plants that express foreign proteins of industrial or medicinal value are an economical alternative to fermentation production systems. Some vaccines have been generated by the transient or stable expression of foreign genes in plants. Recent studies have shown that genes encoding bacterial and viral pathogen antigens are expressed in plants and the expressed antigens retain their innate immunogenicity. Transgenic potato tubers expressing bacterial antigens, when ingested as a food, can stimulate humoral and mucosal immune responses. These results provide the basis for the use of plants as vaccine production vehicles.