{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,23]],"date-time":"2026-10-23T21:10:21Z","timestamp":1792789821236,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":53,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"18","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,17]],"date-time":"2026-09-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1789603200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"National Research Foundation of Ukraine \u201cScience for human and society security\u201d","award":["2020.01\/0301"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2020.01\/0301"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/02gmp5156","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"award":["2020.01\/0301"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2020.01\/0301"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/02gmp5156","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100004742","name":"National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["0120U100849"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["0120U100849"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100004742","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["0120U100849"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["0120U100849"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/00je4t102","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Plants"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Human interferon \u03b1-2b (HuIFN\u03b1-2b) is a cytokine with antiviral and antiproliferative activities and is widely used as a therapeutic protein. Here, we investigated the production of biologically active HuIFN\u03b1-2b in transgenic tomato plants. Long-shelf-life Solanum lycopersicum L. cv. \u2018Shedevr 1\u2019 plants were transformed via an Agrobacterium-mediated protocol using the binary vector pCB124 carrying nptII and HuIFN\u03b1-2b genes. PCR and RT-PCR analyses confirmed transgenes presence and expression in regenerated kanamycin-resistant plants. Antiviral activity was evaluated in vitro by the inhibition of vesicular stomatitis virus replication in MA-104 epithelial cells. Interferon activity reached 14.90 \u00d7 103 IU g\u22121 FW in fresh fruit pulp and 854.00 \u00d7 103 IU g\u22121 FW in leaves. Importantly, transgenic fruits retained substantial activity (2.42 \u00d7 103\u20136.72 \u00d7 103 IU g\u22121 FW) after three months of storage, with detectable activity (0.36 \u00d7 103 IU g\u22121 FW) remaining after five months. Transgene inheritance and interferon activity were confirmed in the T1 and T2 generations. These results demonstrate the potential of long-shelf-life transgenic tomatoes as a platform for the production and extended storage of biologically active recombinant proteins, potentially reducing dependence on costly purification and cold storage procedures.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/plants15182849","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,21]],"date-time":"2026-09-21T11:05:53Z","timestamp":1789988753000},"page":"2849","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Stability of Biologically Active Human Interferon \u03b1-2b in Transgenic \u201cLong-Shelf Life\u201d Tomatoes and Their Progeny"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5643-1406","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Volodymyr","family":"Rudas","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Cell Biology and Genetic Engineering, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Academika Zabolotnogo Street, 148-A, 03143 Kyiv, Ukraine"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4874-5258","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Olga","family":"Ovcharenko","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Cell Biology and Genetic Engineering, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Academika Zabolotnogo Street, 148-A, 03143 Kyiv, Ukraine"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2517-4472","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Olha","family":"Yaroshko","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Cell Biology and Genetic Engineering, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Academika Zabolotnogo Street, 148-A, 03143 Kyiv, Ukraine"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2792-9787","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nadiia","family":"Zholobak","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Zabolotny Institute of Microbiology and Virology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Academika Zabolotnogo Street, 154, 03680 Kyiv, Ukraine"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6539-2274","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Vladyslav","family":"Moseiko","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"ESC \u201cInstitute of Biology and Medicine\u201d, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, 64\/13 Volodymyrska Street, 01601 Kyiv, Ukraine"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2478-8408","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nataliia","family":"Shcherbak","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Cell Biology and Genetic Engineering, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Academika Zabolotnogo Street, 148-A, 03143 Kyiv, Ukraine"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7041-6894","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bogdan","family":"Morgun","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Cell Biology and Genetic Engineering, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Academika Zabolotnogo Street, 148-A, 03143 Kyiv, Ukraine"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5061-4076","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Taras","family":"Pasternak","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Plantae Consulting ES, 03202 Elche, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7365-7474","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mykola","family":"Kuchuk","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Cell Biology and Genetic Engineering, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Academika Zabolotnogo Street, 148-A, 03143 Kyiv, Ukraine"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,17]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3536","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms12063536","article-title":"Recombinant cytokines from plants","volume":"12","author":"Sirko","year":"2011","journal-title":"Int. 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