Anti-carcinoembryonic antigen CIGB-M3 antibody fragment expressed in transiently transformed tobacco leaves

摘要

There is a sustained interest in plant molecular farming as a system for producing valuable recombinant pharmaceutical molecules. Transient gene expression has become a very useful tool for rapid confirmation of the correct assembly of the molecule of interest and of its biological activity, before proceeding to the obtainment of stably transformed transgenic plants. CIGB-M3 is a multivalent-type single chain Fv (scFv) antibody fragment specific for carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). In this scFv a short linker joins the antibody variable regions, leading to production of non-covalently assembled forms. To test whether the M3 can be expressed in transgenic tobacco plants, a fast Agrobacterium tumefaciens transformation procedure based on leaf vacuum infiltration was used. It was demonstrated that CIGB-M3 can be expressed by plant cells and retain its antigen recognition properties.