Spray-Dried Formulation of Epicertin, a Recombinant Cholera Toxin B Subunit Variant That Induces Mucosal Healing.

Epicertin (EPT) is a recombinant variant of the cholera toxin B subunit, modified with a C-terminal KDEL endoplasmic reticulum retention motif. EPT has therapeutic potential for ulcerative colitis treatment. Previously, orally administered EPT demonstrated colon epithelial repair activity in dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced acute and chronic colitis in mice.

N-glycosylation of cholera toxin B subunit in Nicotiana benthamiana: impacts on host stress response, production yield and vaccine potential.

Plant-based transient overexpression systems enable rapid and scalable production of subunit vaccines. Previously, we have shown that cholera toxin B subunit (CTB), an oral cholera vaccine antigen, is N-glycosylated upon expression in transgenic Nicotiana benthamiana. Here, we found that overexpression of aglycosylated CTB by agroinfiltration of a tobamoviral vector causes massive tissue necrosis and poor accumulation unless retained in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER).