HypoPlant – Production of hypo-allergenic glycoproteins in plants

Glycoproteins (GPs) are of prime interest in medical science.

However, the production of GPs by standard methods is still complex and expensive. Plants have been suggested as potential cost-effective and safe GP-production system, but major differences in the final steps of biosynthetic pathways in mammals and plants lead to different glycosylation patterns, provoking an immune response when treating humans with GPs produced in plants. State of the art approaches are based either on glycosylation mutants or overproduction of the desired protein product (intending to override the cellular glycosylation machinery). Though the mutants either show impaired yield or loss of vitality in comparison to wild type, or the proteins do not terminate in mannose residues, which is essential for the biological uptake via mannose receptors in patients with lysosomal storage diseases. This invention provides a new device to generate GPs with hypo-allergenic properties in a cost-effective way: In contrast to current methods, the new technique enables effective production of heterologous GPs by vital plants without impairments. The technology is based on a genetic modification of the N-glycosylation pathway. It is applicable to Solanaceous and other plants of agronomical interest as transgenic producers of GPs. The suppression of a specific enzyme leads to a reduction of cross-reactive carbohydrate determinants (CCD) in general, leading to GPs that are supposed to have a better tolerance and uptake by humans.

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