Gastrointestinal bacterial antibody factories

摘要

Neonates during their first thirty days of life are particularly susceptible to pathogens because their immune system is not yet fully functional. Adults may also be unusually susceptible to pathogens when their immune system has been compromised by disease or when they have been acutely exposed to a bolus of GI pathogen. The invention provides a method of immunizing neonates and adults to pathogens by orally administering recombinant probiotic bacteria that express antibodies to the pathogens. These recombinant bacteria may be optionally administered with antibodies immunologically specific to the pathogens. The invention further provides a composition of recombinant probiotic bacteria that express antibodies to pathogen, and a method to use this composition to immunize neonates and adults.