Grants and Contributions:

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Title:

N-glycosylation enzymes of Nicotiana benthamiana: Identification and structure/function analysis

Agreement Number:

EGP

Agreement Value:

$25,000.00

Agreement Date:

Nov 8, 2017 -

Organization:

Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada

Location:

Ontario, CA

Reference Number:

GC-2017-Q3-00543

Agreement Type:

Grant

Report Type:

Grants and Contributions

Additional Information:

Grant or Award spanning more than one fiscal year (2017-2018 to 2018-2019).

Recipient's Legal Name:

Rose, David (University of Waterloo)

Program:

Engage Grants for universities

Program Purpose:

Plants can be used as an efficient and cost-effective means of producing therapeutic proteins, and have severalx000D
advantages over recombinant cell culture approaches. These include high yields, cheap growing costs,x000D
regulatory advantages, and the ability to produce proteins with minimal infrastructure.x000D
One challenge, no matter what method is used, is to make the products resemble human proteins, so thatx000D
they do not stimulate an immune response in the recipient. Most therapeutic proteins are coated withx000D
complexes of sugar molecules (polysaccharides or glycans). In order to avoid rejection, these have to mimicx000D
human glycan structures.x000D
The goal of this project is to study the plant mechanisms that make the glycans on proteins. Many of thesex000D
have been identified by sequencing the plant genome. However, the details of how they function, and how theyx000D
might be modified to make human-like glycans, are the subject of this study.x000D
The partner company, PlantForm, is developing technologies for making therapeutic proteins in plants. Thex000D
results of this project will provide a foundation for advances in these technologies that facilitate the masking ofx000D
the products within a human-like glycan shell, and making them tolerable to administer to patients.