Construction and Characterization of Virus-Like Particles: A Review

Abstract

Over the last three decades, virus-like particles (VLPs) have evolved to become a widely accepted technology, especially in the field of vaccinology. In fact, some VLP-based vaccines are currently used as commercial medical products, and other VLP-based products are at different stages of clinical study. Several remarkable advantages have been achieved in the development of VLPs as gene therapy tools and new nanomaterials. The analysis of published data reveals that at least 110 VLPs have been constructed from viruses belonging to 35 different families. This review therefore discusses the main principles in the cloning of viral structural genes, the relevant host systems and the purification procedures that have been developed. In addition, the methods that are used to characterize the structural integrity, stability, and components, including the encapsidated nucleic acids, of newly synthesized VLPs are analyzed. Moreover, some of the modifications that are required to construct VLP-based carriers of viral origin with defined properties are discussed, and examples are provided.

Delivery strategies to enhance oral vaccination against enteric infections

“…Their intrinsic antigenicity coupled with the ease of their manufacture has attracted a significant degree of interest [165][166][167]. VLPs make for a very practical alternative to traditional live-attenuated viral antigens in that they consist of a self-assembling 3D viral envelope complex similar to their native virus [165,167].…”

His-tagged norovirus-like particles: A versatile platform for cellular delivery and surface display

“…Moreover, due to their size and highly repetitive symmetric structure, VLPs are capable of inducing strong B and T cell-mediated immune responses. These particles are, however, incapable of causing infection because they are devoid of the viral genetic material and catalytic proteins needed in the viral replication [1,2]. Due to these inherent advantages, VLPs have become a widely accepted platform in prophylactic vaccine technology.…”

“…As a nanocarrier platform, VLPs offer the advantages of morphological uniformity, biocompatibility, the capacity to potentiate the immune response, and easy functionalization. A variety of VLPs are suitable for chemical or genetic modifications of their inner cavities and outer surfaces, which enables the attachment of not only covalently bound drug molecules or antigens but also various cell or tumor targeting ligands [1,3,4].…”

Applications of immunochemistry in human health: advances in vaccinology and antibody design (IUPAC Technical Report)

“…Examples of VLP-based vaccines are the hepatitis B vaccine made from the surface antigen, and the human papillomavirus vaccine made from the L1 surface protein, which both spontaneously form VLPs in solution [184][185][186]. Recently, several VLP-based vaccine candidates have entered clinical investigations with the aim of developing further VLP-based vaccines [187][188][189].…”

“…The yeast (20 %) and insect systems (28 %) are more universal, and these expression hosts have been used successfully for the construction of VLPs from different sources. Plant (9 %) and mammalian (15 %) hosts are typically used to insure the production of VLPs with specific properties [188].…”