Recent advances in the uses and applications of ribosome-inactivating proteins from plants.

Plant ribosome-inactivating proteins (RIPs) are inhibitors present in all parts of plants that irreversibly inactivate eukaryotic ribosomes, thus impairing protein synthesis. RIPs are enzymes with N-glycosidase activity on the large rRNA. Their powerful inhibitory activity has been made use of advantageously to construct conjugates with suitable carriers targeted to altered specific cells. RIPs may be used to inhibit replication of both animal and plant viruses. The introduction of genes coding for RIPs into the genome of plants leads to an increase in resistance towards fungal pathogens and viruses. RIPs are important tools for the treatment of cancer and AIDS and for the protection of crop production.