Patent ID: 7524507

Claim:
A method of causing expression of a desired heterologous protein in gsstrointestinal mucosal cells of a mammal, the method comprising placing a nucleotide sequence encoding the desired heterologous protein under the control of a promoter consisting of the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 2, the promoter being operatively interconnected to the nucleotide sequence encoding the desired heterologous protein, in a recombinant gut-colonizing bacterium, wherein the recombinant gut-colonizing bacterium is suitably attenuated so that the mammal does not experience significant harmful effects as a result of infection by the recombinant gut-colonizing bacterium, orally administering the recombinant gut-colonizing bacterium to the mammal, and causing the expression of the desired heterologous protein in the gastrointestinal mucosal cells of the mammal.