Genetically modified tobacco plants produce antibodies to treat rabies

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-02/foas-gmt020113.php

Public release date: 1-Feb-2013
Contact: Cody Mooneyhan
Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology

New research in The FASEB Journal shows that transgenic tobacco plants can be used to produce safe, protective antibodies against rabies and to benefit patients in developing countries

Bethesda, MD—Smoking tobacco might be bad for your health, but a genetically altered version of the plant might provide a relatively inexpensive cure for the deadly rabies virus. In a new research report appearing in The FASEB Journal, scientists produced a monoclonal antibody in transgenic tobacco plants that was shown to neutralize the rabies virus. This new antibody works by preventing the virus from attaching to nerve endings around the bite site and keeps the virus from traveling to the brain.

"Rabies continues to kill many thousands of people throughout the developing world every year and can also affect international travelers," said Leonard Both, M.Sc., a researcher involved in the work from the Hotung Molecular Immunology Unit at St. George's, University of London, in the United Kingdom. "An untreated rabies infection is nearly 100 percent fatal and is usually seen as a death sentence. Producing an inexpensive antibody in transgenic plants opens the prospect of adequate rabies prevention for low-income families in developing countries."

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