Oral administration of a cholera toxin B subunit-insulin fusion protein produced in silkworm protects against autoimmune diabetes

J Biotechnol. 2005 Sep 22;119(1):93-105. doi: 10.1016/j.jbiotec.2005.05.027.

Abstract

The oral administration of disease-specific autoantigens can induce oral immune tolerance and prevent or delay the onset of autoimmune disease symptoms. Here, we describe the construction of an edible vaccine consisting of a fusion protein composed of cholera toxin B subunit (CTB) and insulin that is produced in silkworm larvae at levels of up to 0.3 mg/ml of hemolymph. The silkworm bioreactor produced this fusion protein vaccine as the pentameric CTB-insulin form, which retained the GM1-ganglioside binding affinity and the native antigenicity of CTB and insulin. Non-obese diabetic mice fed hemolymph containing microgram quantities of the CTB-insulin fusion protein showed a prominent reduction in pancreatic islet inflammation and a delay in the development of symptoms of clinical diabetes. These results demonstrate that the silkworm bioreactor is a feasible production and delivery system for an oral protein vaccine designed to develop immunological tolerance against T-cell-mediated autoimmune diabetes by regulatory T-cell induction.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Administration, Oral
  • Animals
  • Antibody Formation
  • Base Sequence
  • Bombyx / genetics
  • Cholera Toxin / genetics
  • Cholera Toxin / immunology*
  • Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / prevention & control*
  • Female
  • G(M1) Ganglioside / metabolism
  • Insulin / genetics
  • Insulin / immunology*
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred NOD
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Protein Engineering / methods
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins / administration & dosage
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins / genetics
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins / immunology
  • Vaccines, Edible / genetics
  • Vaccines, Edible / immunology
  • Vaccines, Edible / pharmacology*

Substances

  • Insulin
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins
  • Vaccines, Edible
  • G(M1) Ganglioside
  • Cholera Toxin