Dr Diane Webster

BSc(Hons), PhD – University of Otago, NZ

Telephone: 03-9905-4343
E-mail: diane.webster@sci.monash.edu.au
Website: Diane Webster honours site

Plant-made recombinant proteins with therapeutic potential.

Plant molecular farming involves using transgenic plants to make compounds (proteins) which are not normally made in plants. My laboratory works with proteins that are medically interesting and may one day be used to treat or prevent diseases.

Plant-based production systems have a number of advantages, including the ability to make large quantities of high-quality protein at relatively low cost. Medicines made in plants can be safely extracted from leaves and roots without the risk of contamination by human pathogens. Alternatively, they can be given in whole-plant formulations. For example, leaves expressing a measles vaccine can be freeze-dried, ground to a powder and given orally in a capsule or as a paste. We have found that these freeze-dried whole plant formulations are very stable at room temperature which makes them ideal for distribution in resource-poor regions where refrigeration is challenging.

We use genetic engineering techniques to make new varieties of plants containing vaccines for measles, malaria and avian influenza (bird flu). We also have a major project that is investigating the potential of plants for the production a protein which may be useful in the treatment of conditions as diverse as diabetes, heart disease and Alzheimer’s disease.

Research Objectives

• To use plant systems for the expression of high-quality medically interesting proteins such as vaccines and therapeutic agents (transient expression, root culture, viral vectors).
• To optimise the conformation, post-translational processing and functional activity of plant-made proteins to produce highly bioactive compounds.

Research projects for prospective students

• Wang L, Webster DE,CampbellAE, Dry IB, Wesselingh SL, Coppel RL (2008).  Immunogenicity of Plasmodium yoelii merozoite surface protein 4/5 produced in transgenic plants.  International Journal for Parasitology 38(1):103-10.
• Zanin MP, Webster DE, Wesselingh SL (2007).  A DNA prime, orally delivered protein boost vaccination strategy against viral encephalitis.  Journal of NeuroVirology  13(3):284-9.
• Gahan ME, Webster DE, Wesselingh SL, Strugnell RA. (2007)  Impact of plasmid stability on oral DNA delivery by Salmonella typhimurium.  Vaccine 25:1476-1483.
• Webster DE, S.D. Smith, R.J. Pickering, R.A. Strugnell, I.B. Dry, S.L. Wesselingh.  (2006) Measles virus hemagglutinin protein expressed in transgenic lettuce induces neutralising antibodies in mice following mucosal vaccination.  Vaccine, 24: 3538-3544.
• Pickering,R., Smith, S.D., Strugnell, R.A., Wesselingh, S.L., andWebster, D.E. (2006).  Crude saponins improve the immune response to an oral plant-made measles vaccine.  Vaccine24:144-50.
• Webster D. E., Thomas, M.C., Pickering, R., Whyte, A., Dry, I.B., Gorry, P.R., Wesselingh, S.L.  (2005).  Is there a role for plant-made vaccines in the prevention of HIV/AIDS?  Immunology and Cell Biology 83:239-47
• Webster, D.E., Thomas, M.C., Huang, Z., and Wesselingh, S.L. (2005).  Development of a plant-based vaccine for measles.  Vaccine, 23:1859-1865
• Wang,L., Webster, D.E., Wesselingh S.L., and Coppel, R.L. (2004).  Orally delivered malaria vaccines: not too hard to swallow?  Expert Opinions in Biological Therapy, 4: 1585-1594.
• Webster, D.E., Gahan, M., Strugnell R.A., and Wesselingh, S. (2003).  Advances in oral vaccine delivery options; what is on the horizon?  American Journal of Drug Delivery, 1:227-240.
• Zanin, M.P., Webster, D.E., Martin, J.L., and Wesselingh, S.L. (2003).  Japanese encephalitis vaccines: moving away from the mouse brain.  Expert Reviews of Vaccines 2:89-98.
• Webster, D.E., Cooney, M.L., Huang, Z., Drew, D.R., Ramshaw, I.A., Dry, I.B., Strugnell, R.A., Martin, J.L., and Wesselingh, S.L. (2002).  Successful boosting of a DNA measles immunisation with an oral plant-derived measles vaccine.  Journal of Virology 76:7910-7912.  (comment on Nature website July 22, 2002.  “Eat up your vaccine”).
• Webster, D.E., Thomas, M.C., Strugnell, R.A., Dry, I.B., and Wesselingh, SL. (2002).  Appetising solutions: an edible vaccine for measles.  Medical Journal of Australia 176:434-437.
• Huang, Z., Dry, I., Webster, D., Strugnell, R., and Wesselingh, S. (2000).  Plant-derived measles virus hemagglutinin protein induces neutralizing antibodies in mice.  Vaccine 19:2163-2171.