Virus-Like Particles: Revolutionary Platforms for Developing Vaccines Against Emerging Infectious Diseases

Abstract

Virus-like particles (VLPs) are nanostructures that possess diverse applications in therapeutics, immunization, and diagnostics. With the recent advancements in biomedical engineering technologies, commercially available VLP-based vaccines are being extensively used to combat infectious diseases, whereas many more are in different stages of development in clinical studies. Because of their desired characteristics in terms of efficacy, safety, and diversity, VLP-based approaches might become more recurrent in the years to come. However, some production and fabrication challenges must be addressed before VLP-based approaches can be widely used in therapeutics. This review offers insight into the recent VLP-based vaccines development, with an emphasis on their characteristics, expression systems, and potential applicability as ideal candidates to combat emerging virulent pathogens. Finally, the potential of VLP-based vaccine as viable and efficient immunizing agents to induce immunity against virulent infectious agents, including, SARS-CoV-2 and protein nanoparticle-based vaccines has been elaborated. Thus, VLP vaccines may serve as an effective alternative to conventional vaccine strategies in combating emerging infectious diseases.

Virus-like Particles: Fundamentals and Biomedical Applications

“…Among protein-based nanomaterials, virus-like particles (VLPs) are self-assembled platforms commercially approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) since the 1980s [ 5 ]. Since VLPs resemble the capsid morphology, structural organization, and cellular tropism of wild-type viruses [ 6 , 7 ], they have been exploited to prepare monodisperse nanocarriers (20–500 nm) for drug delivery, enzyme delivery for enzymatic replacement therapy [ 8 , 9 ], and gene therapy applications.…”

“…Since VLPs resemble the capsid morphology, structural organization, and cellular tropism of wild-type viruses [ 6 , 7 ], they have been exploited to prepare monodisperse nanocarriers (20–500 nm) for drug delivery, enzyme delivery for enzymatic replacement therapy [ 8 , 9 ], and gene therapy applications. In addition, they have been widely used to construct human vaccines against various pathogenic viruses (e.g., human papillomavirus and zika virus) and distinct types of cancer, such as colorectal, pancreatic, and cervical cancer [ 5 , 10 ].…”

Immunogenicity and protective potential of chimeric virus-like particles containing SARS-CoV-2 spike and H5N1 matrix 1 proteins

“…VLP comprises a virus capsid without a virus genome and can be used as multifunctional, safe, and highly immunogenic vaccines ( Roy and Noad, 2008 ; Liu et al., 2011 ; Lopez-Macias et al., 2011 ; Matsuda et al., 2020 ; Won and Lee, 2020 ; Prates-Syed et al., 2021 ; Tariq et al., 2021 ; Kim et al., 2022 ). Moreover, the repeated antigen pattern on the surface of VLP makes it easier to be recognized by antigen-presenting cells than subunit vaccines to induce more robust and broader humoral and cellular immune responses ( Bright et al., 2007 ; Bright et al., 2008 ; Song et al., 2010 ).…”

A Triple Gene-Deleted Pseudorabies Virus-Vectored Subunit PCV2b and CSFV Vaccine Protects Pigs against PCV2b Challenge and Induces Serum Neutralizing Antibody Response against CSFV

“…These results indicated that the chimeric Cap protein is intact functionally and antigenically. Additionally, VLPs are potent immunostimulatory molecules, which present highly dense repetitive epitopes on the surface a more authentic confirmation so that the immune system can easily recognize them [56]. Therefore, we believe that live PRVtmv+ expressing PCV2b also produced VLPs in vivo and induced a better protective immune response compared with the commercial Fostera vaccine, which is based on inactivated PCV1 with PCV2 Cap.…”