1998 Taters for tots provide an edible vaccine by J. Raloff C onsider the versatile potato. The research could lead to protection against a scourge that afflicts 5 million people annually, they assert. Moreover, because the toxins produced by the bacterium that causes cholera and by the more common Escherichia coli are nearly identical, Langridge says, vaccines against one germ may head off or ameliorate disease caused by the other.
Cholera locks open crucial pores in cells lining the gut.
People with this diarrhea can quickly become dehydrated and die. Langridge's team added the cholera toxin's B-protein to potatoes. This portion of the toxin not only binds to cells in the gut, it also triggers the production of antibodies against cholera. Mice ate the altered potato raw once a week for 4 weeks and downed a booster meal some 40 days later. The scientists then removed pieces of intestine from the animals and added cholera toxin to the tissues.