Human fibroblasts are permissive for porcine cytomegalovirus in vitro.

Background: Xenotransplantation with pig organs is being considered to alleviate donor organ shortages; however, the risk of introducing porcine viruses into humans is heightened in this setting. The goal of this study was to determine the infectious potential of porcine cytomegalovirus (PCMV), a xenozoonotic virus of interest, in human fibroblasts in vitro.

Methods: Confluent human cells were incubated with live PCMV, heat-killed PCMV, or medium alone.

Sustained expression of human cytomegalovirus glycoprotein B (UL55) in the seeds of homozygous rice plants.

Production of recombinant subunit vaccines in transgenic plants may be a means of reducing vaccine costs while increasing availability and safety. A plant-derived product found safe and effective for oral administration would provide additional advantages when used as a vaccine. Outstanding issues with the technology include transgene stability through successive generations and consistent bioproduction.

Accurate determination of zygosity in transgenic rice by real-time PCR does not require standard curves or efficiency correction.

A number of quantitative, real-time PCR methods have been developed for determining transgene copy numbers in plants. Here, we demonstrate that the Roche LightCycler system can be used to determine the zygosity of transgenic lines without the use of standard curves or efficiency correction calculations. We have developed a duplex PCR assay which permits the determination of zygosity, relative to a calibrator sample, in transgenic rice lines containing the gene for a viral glycoprotein.

Increased yield of heterologous viral glycoprotein in the seeds of homozygous transgenic tobacco plants cultivated underground.

The use of transgenic plants in the production of recombinant proteins for human therapy, including subunit vaccines, is being investigated to evaluate the efficacy and safety of these emerging biopharmaceutical products. We have previously shown that synthesis of recombinant glycoprotein B (gB) of human cytomegalovirus can be targeted to seeds of transgenic tobacco when directed by the rice glutelin 3 promoter, with gB retaining critical features of immunological reactivity (E.S.