N-glycosylation of plant-produced recombinant proteins

Curr Pharm Des. 2013;19(31):5503-12. doi: 10.2174/1381612811319310006.

Abstract

Plants are gaining increasingly acceptance as a production platform for recombinant proteins. One reason for this is their ability to carry out posttranslational protein modifications in a similar if not identical way as mammalian cells. The capability of plants to carry out human-like complex glycosylation is well known. Moreover, the targeted manipulation of the plant N-glycosylation pathway allows the production of proteins carrying largely homogeneous, human-type oligosaccharides. These outstanding results have placed plants in a favourable position compared to other eukaryotic expression systems. This review provides a comprehensive summary of the N-glycosylation of plant-produced recombinant proteins, the possible impact of plant-specific N-glycans on the human immune system, and recent advances in engineering the plant N-glycosylation pathway towards the synthesis of (complex) human-type glycan structures, highlighting challenges and achievements in the application of these powerful technologies.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Glycosylation
  • Humans
  • Immune System / metabolism
  • Metabolic Engineering
  • Molecular Farming / methods*
  • Plant Proteins / metabolism*
  • Polysaccharides / chemistry
  • Polysaccharides / metabolism
  • Recombinant Proteins / biosynthesis*

Substances

  • Plant Proteins
  • Polysaccharides
  • Recombinant Proteins