Virus‑like particles as a vaccine delivery system: Myths and facts

Abstract

Vaccines against viral disease have traditionally relied on attenuated virus strains or inactivation of infectious virus. Subunit vaccines based on viral proteins expressed in heterologous systems have been effective for some pathogens, but have often suffered from poor immunogenicity due to incorrect protein folding or modification. In this review we focus on a specific class of viral subunit vaccine that mimics the overall structure of virus particles and thus preserves the native antigenic conformation of the immunogenic proteins. These virus-like particles (VLPs) have been produced for a wide range of taxonomically and structurally distinct viruses, and have unique advantages in terms of safety and immunogenicity over previous approaches. With new VLP vaccines for papillomavirus beginning to reach the marketplace we argue that this technology has now 'come-of-age' and must be considered a viable vaccine strategy.

TLR7 and 9 agonists are highly effective mucosal adjuvants for norovirus virus-like particle vaccines

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] Successful VLP-based vaccines include the Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines, both of which have received FDA approval and are commercially available. 2,4,8,9,12 In addition, several VLP-based norovirus (NoV) and influenza virus vaccines are currently in the developmental and clinical pipelines.…”

“…2,4,8,9,12 In addition, several VLP-based norovirus (NoV) and influenza virus vaccines are currently in the developmental and clinical pipelines. 1,3,[5][6][7]10,11 These nonreplicating subunit antigens provide a safe alternative to live or attenuated viral vaccines; however, many subunit antigens alone do not elicit an immune response robust enough for a vaccine to be protective. Poor immunogenicity of non-replicating subunit vaccines, however, can be overcome by the addition (or co-delivery) of potent adjuvants.…”

Production of Japanese encephalitis virus-like particles in insect cells

“…VLPs are a highly effective type of subunit vaccine that can elicit strong immune responses because of their repeated dense display of viral antigens in an authentic conformation. [3][4][5][6][7] Therefore, VLPs offer a promising approach to the development of safe and efficacious vaccines and diagnostic antigens.…”

“…However, such subunit vaccines often suffer from poor immunogenicity probably due to misfolded conformation of the target protein. 3,4 Virus-like particles (VLPs) are composed of one or several recombinant viral surface proteins that spontaneously assemble into particulate structures similar to authentic virus particles or naturally occurring subviral particles. VLPs cannot cause infection because they assemble without the incorporation of viral DNA or RNA.…”

La biotecnología en sanidad animal

“…Dichas estructuras se denominan VLPs, por las siglas en inglés "Virus Like Particles", y son muy inmunogéni-cas. La mayoría de las VLPs descritas se han producido en el sistema de baculovirus (Crisci, Bárcena y Montoya, 2012;Liu et al, 2012;Roy y Noad, 2008). Son muy seguras, puesto que no llevan ADN infectivo, y muy inmunogénicas ya que son prácticamente idénticas al virus.…”