Virus‐like particles as powerful vaccination strategy against human viruses

Abstract

Nowadays, viruses are not only seen as causative agents of viral infectious diseases but also as valuable research materials for various biomedical purposes, including recombinant protein production. When expressed in living or cell‐free expression systems, viral structural proteins self‐assemble into virus‐like particles (VLPs). Mimicking the native form and size of viruses and lacking the genetic material, VLPs are safe and highly immunogenic and thus can be exploited to develop antiviral vaccines. Some vaccines based on VLPs against various infectious pathogens have already been licenced for human use and are available in the commercial market, the latest of which is a VLP‐based vaccine to protect against the novel Coronavirus. Despite the success and popularity of VLP subunit vaccines, many more VLPs are still in different stages of design, production, and approval. There are still many challenges that require to be addressed in the future before this surface display system can be widely used as an effective vaccine strategy in combating infectious diseases. In this review, we highlight the use of structural viral proteins to produce VLPs, emphasising their intrinsic properties, structural classification, and main expression host systems. We also compiled the recent scientific literature about VLP‐based vaccines to underline the recent advances in their application as a vaccine strategy for preventing and fighting virulent human pathogens. Finally, we presented the key challenges and possible solutions for VLP‐based vaccine production.

The Potential of Plant-Produced Virus-like Particle Vaccines for African Horse Sickness and Other Equine Orbiviruses

“…Bacteria also lack the post-translational machinery necessary for authentic eukaryotic protein modifications, especially glycosylation, which is often key for antigenicity [ 65 ]. A disadvantage of yeast cell expression is the potential for the “hyperglycosylation” of proteins due to high levels of mannose modification, and their lack of mammalian-like post-translational modification limits their use for generating non-enveloped VLPs [ 66 ]. Insect cells require a longer procedure to express protein constitutively or transiently, and they typically have low levels of protein expression and produce glycosylation patterns different from that observed in mammalian cells [ 67 , 68 ].…”

Advances in virus-like particle-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccines

“…Thus, the high cost and process complexity of manufacturing constitute key challenges for VLP-based vaccines. Furthermore, existing commercial VLP-based vaccines are primarily used to protect against human viral infections ( Hadj Hassine et al., 2024 ). However, the efficacy of VLP-based vaccines against other types of pathogenic microbes, such as bacteria, remains unclear.…”

Controlling the Quality of Nanodrugs According to Their New Property—Radiothermal Emission

“…The radiuses of VLPs range from 20 to 200 nm [ 1 , 15 ], which provides the best efficiency for penetration into the body’s lymphoid system. Recent experience in the development of VLP SARS-CoV-2 and rotavirus VLPs has demonstrated their high immunogenicity and their absence of side effects [ 16 , 17 , 18 ].…”