Yeast as an expression system for producing virus-like particles: what factors do we need to consider?

Abstract

The development of various types of virus-like particles (VLPs) has accelerated over the past two decades as the importance of VLPs for generating nextgeneration vaccines has been appreciated. Yeast has advantages such as scalable fermentation, low risk of contamination by adventitious agents, low production costs and the ability to produce VLPs with reliable qualities. It is generally recognized that yeast is suitable for producing VLPs that have simple structures and are produced intracellularly. However, recently there has been much effort to extend its applicability, and there is now evidence that it can be used as an expression platform for the productions of VLPs not only of nonenveloped viruses but also of enveloped viruses. Moreover, evidences indicated that yeast allows secretory VLP productions. Meanwhile, it has become evident that the quality and quantity of yeast-derived VLPs are influenced by the choice of plasmid and promoter, the ratio of the structural proteins produced. Here, we review the characteristics of the yeast expression system in terms of the production of VLP and compare it with other expression systems. We also consider strategies for VLP production in yeast and factors that need to be taken into account.

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.…”

Self-assembly into virus–like particles of the recombinant capsid protein of porcine circovirus type 3 and its application on antibodies detection

“…Other groups have published that, different sizes of VLPs appear in different expression systems (Bucarey et al 2009;Kim et al 2018a;Wu et al 2016), a number of factors including storage conditions (ion-strength, pH and etc.) as well as the process design also influence the characteristics of VLPs (Effio and Hubbuch 2015;Fernandes et al 2013;Kim and Kim 2017b). 10 nm particles can be used as a preliminary evaluation standard before the real virus morphology of PCV3 is discovered.…”

Virus-Like Particle-Mediated Vaccination against Interleukin-13 May Harbour General Anti-Allergic Potential beyond Atopic Dermatitis

“…Virus-like particle (VLP) vaccines are nanostructures generated by self-assembly of structural proteins resembling the native version in their morphology and composition but lack the genomic material of infectious capacity [4,5]. VLPs can be acquired from a variety of expression systems and platforms including bacteriophages (MS2, PP7 and AP205 [6][7][8]), yeast (Hansenula polymorpha and Saccharomyces cerevisiae [9,10]), bacteria (Escherichia coli [8]), mammalian cell lines (Vero, 293T and BHK cell lines [11][12][13]), plant cell culture (cowpea mosaic virus, cucumber mosaic virus, tobacco mosaic virus, and bean yellow dwarf virus [14][15][16]) and insect cell lines (Baculovirus and Sf9 cell line [12,17]) [18]. Vaccine development faces a clear challenge: production of sufficient amounts of quality antibodies to target the desired antigen.…”