plantibodies

A plantibody is an antibody produced by plants that have been genetically engineered with animal DNA encoding a specific human antibody known to neutralize a particular pathogen or toxin. The transgenic plants produce antibodies similar to their human counterparts, and following purification, plantibodies can be administered therapeutically to acutely ill patients or prophylactically to at-risk individuals (such as healthcare workers). The term plantibody was trademarked by the company Biolex.

Passive immunization is a medical strategy long employed to provide temporary protection against pathogens. Early implementations involved recovering ostensibly cell-free plasma from the blood of human survivors or from non-human animals deliberately exposed to a specific pathogen or toxin. These approaches resulted in crude purifications of plasma-soluble proteins including antibodies. Antibodies (also known as an immunoglobulins) are complex proteins produced by vertebrates that recognize antigens (or molecular patterns) on pathogens and some dangerous compounds in order to alert the adaptive immune system that there are pathogens within the body.