“...virus-like particles offer several valuable features and represent a very appealing model ... currently considered to be the best alternative vaccine approach for specific viral infections, which may require a large and timely manufacturing readiness.”
Most of the successful vaccines against infectious diseases are based on live attenuated or inactivated pathogens that, however, have shown some adverse effects, raising concerns about their safety. In order to address such concerns, several alternative vaccine strategies have been and are constantly developed aiming at increasing the safety without significant loss of immunogenicity.
Among such a broad array of strategies, virus-like particles (VLPs) offer several valuable features and represent a very appealing model. After the first demonstration of the polyoma virus major capsid protein, VP1, self-assembling into VLPs in the absence of viral genetic material Citation[1], VLPs have been produced from a broad spectrum of enveloped and non-enveloped viruses. Several VLP-based vaccine candidates are in clinical trials or undergoing preclinical evaluation, while many others are still in the early stages of development. Manufacturing complexity as well as regulatory concerns have delayed the approval for marketing of VLP-based vaccines.
More recently, however, prophylactic vaccines based on VLP technology have been approved and are commercialized – that is, by GlaxoSmithKline’s (NC, USA) Engerix® (HBV) and Cervarix® (HPV) and Merck and Co., Inc.’s (NJ, USA) Recombivax HB® (HBV) and Gardasil® (HPV). This has dramatically boosted the overall VLP-based vaccine field, which is currently considered to be the best alternative vaccine approach for specific viral infections, which may require a large and timely manufacturing readiness (i.e., influenza virus).
In this framework, the present issue contains a series of timely in-depth reviews written by leaders in the field covering a range of current topics in VLP-based vaccine development and clinical assessment for several human infectious diseases.
Financial & competing interests disclosure
The authors have been conducting studies on VLP-based vaccines supported by EC funded FP7 grant no. 201433 and hold the patent on HIV-VLPs (WO/2010/043259). 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.
Related Research Data
Reference
- Brady JN, Consigli RA. Chromatographic separation of the polyoma virus proteins and renaturation of the isolated VP1 major capsid protein. J. Virol. 27(2), 436–442 (1978).