Expression in plants of two new antigens with implications in Alzheimer's disease immunotherapy

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has gained especial importance due to the high prevalence owed to the increase in life expectancy derived from the modern medical health care and the lack of effective therapies. In particular, the field of immunotherapies against AD is an active research field with some candidates under evaluation in clinical trials. In particular, the 42 amino acids-amyloid β peptide (Aβ) has a key role in the progress of AD, since tends to aggregate and forms senile plaques in neuronal cells. The strong interaction between Aβ and the Receptor for Advanced Glycation End Products (RAGE) has received special attention in the study of AD pathogenesis. RAGE is considered a therapeutic target due that it mediates the translocation of Aβ across the blood brain barrier. Since plants constitute attractive platforms for vaccine production, we designed and expressed in plants two recombinant chimeric proteins that comprise epitopes from Aβ and RAGE. Plants were capable to produce the expected proteins retaining their antigenic activity, however developed phenotypic alterations. Implications of these findings on the development of AD plant-based vaccines are discussed.