CHIMERIC POLYPEPTIDES, POLYNUCLEOTIDES ENCODING SAME, CELLS EXPRESSING SAME AND METHODS OF PRODUCING SAME

1 . A plant produced chimeric polypeptide comprising:

(i) a first domain which comprises a TNFα binding domain of a TNF receptor, and

(ii) a second domain which comprises an Fc domain of an immunoglobulin, wherein said first domain and said second domain are N-terminally to C-terminally respectively sequentially translationally fused and wherein the chimeric polypeptide specifically binds TNFα.

2 . A chimeric polypeptide comprising:

(i) a first domain which comprises a TNFα binding domain of a TNF receptor;

(ii) a second domain which comprises an Fc domain of an immunoglobulin; and

(iii) a third domain comprising an endoplasmic reticulum retention signal, wherein said first domain, second domain and third domain are N-terminally to C-terminally respectively sequentially translationally fused and wherein the chimeric polypeptide specifically binds TNFα.

3 . The polypeptide of claim 1 comprising an additional domain encoding an endoplasmic reticulum signal peptide translationally fused N-terminally to said first domain.

4 . The polypeptide of claim 3 , wherein said signal peptide is a plant signal peptide.

5 . The polypeptide of claim 4 , wherein said plant signal peptide is as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 4.

6 . The polypeptide of claim 1 , wherein said first domain is 200-250 amino acids long.

7 . The polypeptide of claim 6 , wherein said first domain comprises the amino acid sequence LCAP (SEQ ID NO: 11) and VFCT (SEQ ID NO: 12).

8 . The polypeptide of claim 7 , wherein said first domain further comprises the amino acid sequence LPAQVAFXPYAPEPGSTC (SEQ ID NO: 13).

9 . The polypeptide of claim 8 , wherein said first domain is as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 2.

10 . (canceled)

11 . The polypeptide of claim 1 , wherein said second domain is as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 9.

12 . The polypeptide of claim 2 as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 6.

13 . The polypeptide of claim 2 as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 7, 204 or 205.

14 . The polypeptide of claim 1 , wherein the polypeptide is purified to at least 98% homogeneity.

15 . The polypeptide of claim 1 , capable of inhibiting TNFα-induced apoptosis.

16 . The polypeptide of claim 1 , comprising a plant-specific glycan.

17 . (canceled)

18 . An isolated polynucleotide comprising a nucleic acid sequence encoding the polypeptide of claim 1 .

19 - 20 . (canceled)

21 . A nucleic acid expression construct comprising a nucleic acid sequence encoding the polynucleotide of claim 18 , and a cis-acting regulatory element active in a plant cell.

22 . (canceled)

23 . A plant cell comprising the nucleic acid construct of claim 21 .

24 . The plant cell of claim 23 being a Nicotiana tabacum plant cell.

25 . The plant cell of claim 24 , wherein said Nicotiana tabacum L. cv plant cell is a Bright Yellow (BY-2) cell.

26 . The plant cell of claim 23 , being lyophilized.

27 - 29 . (canceled)

30 . A method of treating a TNFα-associated medical condition in a subject in need thereof, the method comprising administering to the subject a therapeutically effective amount of the polypeptide of claim 1 , thereby treating the TNFα-associated medical condition in the subject.

31 . A method of treating a TNFα-associated medical condition in a subject in need thereof, the method comprising administering to the subject a therapeutically effective amount of the plant cells of claim 23 , thereby treating the TNFα-associated medical condition in the subject.

32 - 39 . (canceled)

40 . The method of claim 31 , wherein said medical condition is an inflammatory bowel disease.

41 - 46 . (canceled)

47 . A method of producing a polypeptide comprising:

providing a cell according to claim 23 ; and

culturing said cell so as to produce said polypeptide.

48 - 50 . (canceled)