Development of virus‐like particles‐based vaccines against coronaviruses

Abstract

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS‐CoV), Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS‐CoV), and the current severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) are the most impactful coronaviruses in human history, especially the latter, which brings revolutionary changes to human vaccinology. Due to its high infectivity, the virus spreads rapidly throughout the world and was declared a pandemic in March 2020. A vaccine would normally take more than 10 years to be developed. As such, there is no vaccine available for SARS‐CoV and MERS‐CoV. Currently, 10 vaccines have been approved for emergency use by World Health Organization (WHO) against SARS‐CoV‐2. Virus‐like particle (VLP)s are nanoparticles resembling the native virus but devoid of the viral genome. Due to their self‐adjuvanting properties, VLPs have been explored extensively for vaccine development. However, none of the approved vaccines against SARS‐CoV‐2 was based on VLP and only 4% of the vaccine candidates in clinical trials were based on VLPs. In the current review, we focused on discussing the major advances in the development of VLP‐based vaccine candidates against the SARS‐CoV, MERS‐CoV, and SARS‐CoV‐2, including those in clinical and pre‐clinical studies, to give a comprehensive overview of the VLP‐based vaccines against the coronaviruses.

ACE2-Coated Virus-Like Particles Effectively Block SARS-CoV-2 Infection

“…In this study, we demonstrate that we can successfully prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection in vitro using ACE2 protein coated VLPs. VLPs have long been considered useful tools for vaccine development, and VLP-based vaccines have indeed been developed for coronaviruses [33]. Our study ascribes a new use for VLPs as an antiviral agent where VLPs are transformed into ACE2 carriers for direct virus neutralization.…”

Virus-mimicking nanosystems: from design to biomedical applications

“…These nanoparticles can mimic the structure and function of viruses to interfere with different stages of viral infection or act as vaccine carriers to stimulate the immune system to produce specific antibodies and enhance the body's immunity against viruses. 69,129,130…”

Baculovirus Expression of Feline Panleukopenia Virus Capsid Protein and Induces Robust Immune Responses in Cats

“…To date, many platforms have been established to develop vaccines with high e ciency and safety pro les [19], of which VLPs have attracted the most attention in the veterinary vaccine eld [20][21][22], especially in pet vaccines. Many researchers have tried to express VP2 protein through various expression systems, such as Escherichia coli [23][24][25], insect cell baculovirus [7,11,26,27], or even silkworm [28].…”