Exploring the Potential of Plant-Based CTB-INS Oral Vaccines in Treating Type 1 Diabetes

The 19th century saw the development of vaccines, which were biological preparations designed to enhance immunity against specific diseases. Edible vaccines function by stimulating both systemic and mucosal immune responses against foreign pathogens, and they may potentially protect the host from autoimmunity. The mucosal surfaces provide a convenient and rapid route for delivering therapeutic small molecules. This is due to their large surface areas and easy administration. The effectiveness of mucosal immunization relies on the fact that mucous membranes represent the body’s largest immunogenic organ. Within this interface, there is a well-organized lymphatic structure known as MALT (mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue), which includes both T and B cells and encompasses the adaptive arms of the immune system. Oral vaccines specifically stimulate immune responses in the gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT), which consists of lymph nodes, Payer’s patches (where B cells make up about 75% of the population and T cells account for approximately 20%), and isolated lymphoid follicles within the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). However, a significant challenge in developing vaccines is the rapid degradation of antigens within the harsh environment of the digestive tract, which hampers effective protein delivery to the GIT. In light of recent proteomic analysis revealing strong up-regulation of the tryptophan catabolic enzyme indoleamine 2, 3-dioxygenase (IDO1) in DCs inoculated with the Cholera toxin B-subunit-Insulin fusion protein vaccine (CTB-INS), we are interested in investigating the effects of transgene integration into a selected plant cell as an edible vaccine.