Use tobacco to thwart West Nile virus and other infectious diseases

West Nile virus is spread by infected mosquitoes and targets the central nervous system. It can be fatal disease and there is currently no cure or drug treatment. It has spread across the U.S., Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean. An international research group has developed a cost-effective therapeutic against West Nile virus and other pathogens. The therapeutics, known as monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) and their derivatives, were shown to neutralize and protect mice against a lethal dose challenge of West Nile virus – even as late as 4 days after the initial infection. And they used tobacco. MAbs target proteins found on the surface of West Nile virus. The team has been using MAbs as therapeutic candidates in plants, including tobacco and lettuce plants. A few years ago, they demonstrated that their first candidate, pHu-E16, could neutralize West Nile infection and protect mice from exposure. However, this antibody was not to be able to...