Update on baculovirus as an expression and/or delivery vehicle for vaccine antigens

Abstract

After three decades of development, the baculovirus/insect cell expression system is now recognized as a powerful platform for recombinant protein production. With a number of distinct advantages, the baculovirus/insect cell expression system has been extensively used for the production of various vaccine candidates, and several human and veterinary vaccine products have been commercially available. In addition to insect cells, baculovirus is capable of entering a broad range of mammalian cells, lending itself to a promising gene delivery vehicle for antigen expression and display in vivo. The use of baculovirus for antigen expression and delivery has been reviewed in 2008. Rather than a critical evaluation, this paper aims to provide an update of the applications of baculovirus as an in vitro or in vivo antigen expression/delivery vehicle, with special focuses on developments and advances after 2008.

Keywords::

• baculovirus
• baculovirus expression vector system
• immune response
• innate immunity
• insect cell
• mammalian cell
• surface display
• vaccine
• virus-like particle

Financial & competing interests disclosure

The authors acknowledge the support from the National Tsing Hua University (Toward World-Class University Project 102N2051E1, 103N2051N1 and NTHU-CGMH Joint Research Program 103N2758E1), Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW102-TD-PB-111-NSC108) and Ministry of Science and Technology (NSC 101-2923-E-007-002-MY3, 102-2622-E-007-022-CC1, MOST 103-2622-E-007-024-CC1), Taiwan. 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.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

Key issues

• Baculovirus expression vector system (BEVS) is a powerful platform to produce various subunit and complex antigens including virus-like particles.

• BEVS allows for rapid baculovirus generation and vaccine production in weeks, lending itself to an ideal vaccine production system to respond to potential epidemics or pandemics.

• The approvals of BEVS-derived vaccine products have warranted the safety and usefulness of BEVS for recombinant vaccine production.

• Not only being a platform to produce vaccine antigens in insect cells, baculovirus (BacMam) itself is also a very efficient vaccine vehicle to express and display antigens in vivo.

• The adaptive immune response and genotoxicity triggered by BacMam vectors need to be well characterized to ensure the safety of baculovirus as a vaccine expression/display vector.

• Clinical trials are in urgent need to demonstrate the clinical potential of BacMam as a vaccine expression/display vector.