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Obesity prevalence continues to increase in both adults and children worldwide and greatly contributes to increased morbidity and mortality. Although there are some anti-obesity drugs globally available for clinical use, their inadequate effectiveness coupled with safety concerns sometimes discourage the widespread use of anti-obesity medication. Because of its prolonged therapeutic effect and low frequency of administration, a therapeutic vaccine may be an attractive strategy for the prevention and treatment of obesity. Over the last two decades, several attempts have been made to develop vaccines for the control of obesity. Animal studies have shown that vaccines targeting ghrelin, glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide, adipocytes, somatostatin, and adenovirus 36 successfully led to a reduction in weight gain without serious adverse effects. This chapter provides an overview of recent progress toward a therapeutic vaccine against obesity.

Plant-based vaccines (PbVs), developed with novel plant genetic engineering technologies, offer a new strategy for the production, storage, and delivery of vaccines. PbVs can overcome practical and economic concerns surrounding injectable vaccines, including the need for medical staff to perform the injections and the costs of production and refrigeration. The development of unrefrigerated, needle-free vaccines will support the prevention of infectious diseases in developing countries. Although no PbV has yet been licensed for human clinical use, some are now in clinical trials. Antigen-encoding genes introduced into potatoes, lettuce, spinach, corn, tobacco, soybeans, and rice can produce vaccines against mucosal and systemic infectious diseases, including enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli, Vibrio cholerae, norovirus, influenza virus, hepatitis B virus, and rabies virus. This chapter introduces the plant genetic engineering technologies used and clinical trials of PbVs.