Escherichia coli-derived virus-like particles in vaccine development

Abstract

Recombinant virus-like particle-based vaccines are composed of viral structural proteins and mimic authentic native viruses but are devoid of viral genetic materials. They are the active components in highly safe and effective vaccines for the prevention of infectious diseases. Several expression systems have been used for virus-like particle production, ranging from Escherichia coli to mammalian cell lines. The prokaryotic expression system, especially Escherichia coli, is the preferred expression host for producing vaccines for global use. Hecolin, the first licensed virus-like particle vaccine derived from Escherichia coli, has been demonstrated to possess good safety and high efficacy. In this review, we focus on Escherichia coli-derived virus-like particle based vaccines and vaccine candidates that are used for prevention (immunization against microbial pathogens) or disease treatment (directed against cancer or non-infectious diseases). The native-like spatial or higher-order structure is essential for the function of virus-like particles. Thus, the tool box for analyzing the key physicochemical, biochemical and functional attributes of purified virus-like particles will also be discussed. In summary, the Escherichia coli expression system has great potentials for producing a range of proteins with self-assembling properties to be used as vaccine antigens given the proper epitopes were preserved when compared to those in the native pathogens or disease-related target molecules.

Progress in biopharmaceutical development

“…Its attractiveness for industrial applications results from its well‐understood genetics, cell biology, and easy handling. Expression systems based on E. coli allow for rapid growth, high product yield, cost‐effectiveness, easy process scale‐up, and short turnaround time . The limitations of this expression host for the production of complex recombinant biopharmaceuticals include the absence of mammalian‐like posttranslational modifications, such as glycosylation, phosphorylation, and proteolytic processing .…”

Physalis Mottle Virus-Like Particles as Nanocarriers for Imaging Reagents and Drugs

“…Many different virus structural proteins form VLPs when expressed in standard heterologous expression systems such as Escherichia coli ( E. coli ), 17 yeasts, 18 plants, 19 mammalian cells, 20–22 and insect cells. 23 Such VLPs tend to be structurally and morphologically similar to the wild-type virus particles and demonstrate similar cell tropism, uptake, and intracellular trafficking.…”

Novel approaches for the design, delivery and administration of vaccine technologies

“…Traditional production of an influenza vaccine takes 9 months after a new annual strain has been sequenced, but VLP production takes only 3-12 weeks [19,20]. Since then, VLP vaccines for human papillomavirus (HPV) (Gardasil) and hepatitis E (Hecolin) have also made it to market in 2006 and 2011, respectively [22,23], with many more undergoing evaluation in clinical trials [24]. Since then, VLP vaccines for human papillomavirus (HPV) (Gardasil) and hepatitis E (Hecolin) have also made it to market in 2006 and 2011, respectively [22,23], with many more undergoing evaluation in clinical trials [24].…”

“…The first VLP vaccine to be brought to market was the vaccine for hepatitis B (Recombivax HB), in 1986, which consists of self-assembled particles made from the virus capsid protein, hepatitis B surface antigen [21]. Since then, VLP vaccines for human papillomavirus (HPV) (Gardasil) and hepatitis E (Hecolin) have also made it to market in 2006 and 2011, respectively [22,23], with many more undergoing evaluation in clinical trials [24].…”