| abstract |
There is provided a method of producing virus-like particles (VLPs) in a plant comprising modified hemagglutinin. The method comprises introducing into a plant or part of a plant a nucleic acid comprising a regulatory region operably linked to a nucleotide sequence encoding a plant-active and modified influenza hemagglutinin (HA) protein, wherein the modified The HA protein contains a modified protein hydrolysis loop. Followed by the step of culturing the plant or part of the plant under conditions permitting expression of the nucleic acid, thereby producing the VLP. The modified protein hydrolysis loop may comprise one or more protease cleavage sites that exhibit reduced or abolished cleavage by the protease. The nucleotide sequence encoding HA is selected from the group consisting of B HA, C, Hl, H2, H3, H4, H5, H6, H7, H8, H9, H10, H11, H12, H13, H14, H15 and H16 It is possible. Also described are virus-like particles (VLPs) produced by the method, and plants expressing VLPs. Virus-like particles (VLPs) may also include plant-specific N-glycans, or modified N-glycans. |