Plant Viruses as Nanoparticle-Based Vaccines and Adjuvants

Abstract

Vaccines are considered one of the greatest medical achievements in the battle against infectious diseases. However, the intractability of various diseases such as hepatitis C, HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, and cancer poses persistent hurdles given that traditional vaccine-development methods have proven to be ineffective; as such, these challenges have driven the emergence of novel vaccine design approaches. In this regard, much effort has been put into the development of new safe adjuvants and vaccine platforms. Of particular interest, the utilization of plant virus-like nanoparticles and recombinant plant viruses has gained increasing significance as an effective tool in the development of novel vaccines against infectious diseases and cancer. The present review summarizes recent advances in the use of plant viruses as nanoparticle-based vaccines and adjuvants and their mechanism of action. Harnessing plant-virus immunogenic properties will enable the design of novel, safe, and efficacious prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines against disease.

Plant viruses and bacteriophages for drug delivery in medicine and biotechnology

“…The size and multivalent nature of VNPs allows for increased immune stimulation, including enhanced B cell activation and uptake by antigen presenting cells. Additionally, even viruses which do not infect mammalian cells stimulate pathogen associated molecular patterns receptors thus priming the innate immune system, resulting in chemo/cytokine profiles that also stimulate T cell activation [8]. Building on their ability to interact efficiently with immune cells and their natural capacity to encapsulate nucleic acid cargo, VNPs are undergoing development for delivery and expression of immunogenic transgenes in host cells as a vaccination strategy.…”

“…Because viruses comes in many shapes, sizes, and surface properties, the nanomedical engineer can pick and choose the most appropriate platform for a given application (Figure 1) [1,7,8]. For example, higher aspect ratio materials have propensity to marginate and target the diseased vessel wall [9], while flexuous rods allow penetration deep into tumor tissue [10]; and low aspect ratio materials or icosahedrons interact effectively with the immune system [11].…”

Reduction Sensitive PEG Hydrogels for Codelivery of Antigen and Adjuvant To Induce Potent CTLs

“…PRINT offers the ability to mold biocompatible nanoparticles with complete control over particle size, shape, and chemical composition in a manner heretofore not possible with other particle technologies. High aspect ratio (80 × 80 × 320 nm, aspect ratio = 4) particles were chosen since the rod shape emulates known pathogens 27 and increased aspect ratio is known to enhance cellular uptake. 28 The antigenic peptide (CSIIN-FEKL) and adjuvant (CpG ODN) were surface conjugated to NPs through reduction sensitive linkers, taking advantage of the intracellular reducing environment to trigger their release.…”

Self-assembly of hexahistidine-tagged tobacco etch virus capsid protein into microfilaments that induce IgG2-specific response against a soluble porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus chimeric protein

“…However, the use of plant viral infectious particles poses additional safety and environmental challenges [6]. By 1990s, research on Johnson grass mosaic virus (JGMV) CP led to propose the use of chimeric potyvirus-like particles for epitope carrying or display taking advantage of particle features, as reviewed by Jagadish and others [7].…”