The potential of plants for the production and delivery of human papillomavirus vaccines

Abstract

The available vaccines against human papillomavirus have some limitations such as low coverage due to their high cost, reduced immune coverage and the lack of therapeutic effects. Recombinant vaccines produced in plants (genetically engineered using stable or transient expression systems) offer the possibility to obtain low cost, efficacious and easy to administer vaccines. The status on the development of plant-based vaccines against human papillomavirus is analyzed and placed in perspective in this review. Some candidates have been characterized at a preclinical level with interesting outcomes. However, there is a need to perform the immunological characterization of several vaccine prototypes, especially through the oral administration route, as well as develop new candidates based on new chimeric designs intended to provide broader immunoprotection and therapeutic activity.

Keywords:

• cervical cancer
• human papillomavirus
• immunogenicity
• multiepitopic vaccine
• oral immunization
• vaccination coverage

Financial & competing interests disclosure

S Rosales-Mendoza was supported by CONACYT/Mexico CONACYT (grant INFR-2014-01-225843) and PROFOCIES 2014. Omar Gonzalez edited the English version of this manuscript. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

Key issues

• Cervical cancer constitutes a high mortality disease worldwide, whose leading cause are oncogenic Human papillomavirus (HPV) types.

• Although effective, current HPV vaccines have limitations on coverage, immunogenic properties and ability to induce therapeutic effects.

• Plants can be engineered to produce and deliver HPV subunit vaccines at low costs.

• A number of plant-based HPV vaccine candidates have been developed and are under preclinical evaluation.

• Perspectives for the field comprise completing preclinical evaluation and progressing to clinical trials, as well as developing multiepitopic candidate vaccines in plant-based platforms.

• Plant-based vaccines offer the potential to yield low cost HPV prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines.