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Barkovich KJ, Wu Z, Zhao Z, Simms A, Chang EY, Steinmetz NF. Physalis Mottle Virus-Like Nanocarriers with Expanded Internal Loading Capacity. Bioconjug Chem 2023; 34:1585-1595. [PMID: 37615599 PMCID: PMC10538386 DOI: 10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.3c00269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/25/2023]
Abstract
An ongoing challenge in precision medicine is the efficient delivery of therapeutics to tissues/organs of interest. Nanoparticle delivery systems have the potential to overcome traditional limitations of drug and gene delivery through improved pharmacokinetics, tissue targeting, and stability of encapsulated cargo. Physalis mottle virus (PhMV)-like nanoparticles are a promising nanocarrier platform which can be chemically targeted on the exterior and interior surfaces through reactive amino acids. Cargo-loading to the internal cavity is achieved with thiol-reactive small molecules. However, the internal loading capacity of these nanoparticles is limited by the presence of a single reactive cysteine (C75) per coat protein with low inherent reactivity. Here, we use structure-based design to engineer cysteine-added mutants of PhMV VLPs that display increased reactivity toward thiol-reactive small molecules. Specifically, the A31C and S137C mutants show a greater than 10-fold increased rate of reactivity towards thiol-reactive small molecules, and PhMV Cys1 (A31C), PhMV Cys2 (S137C), and PhMV Cys1+2 (double mutant) VLPs display up to three-fold increased internal loading of the small molecule chemotherapeutics aldoxorubicin and vcMMAE and up to four-fold increased internal loading of the MRI imaging reagent DOTA(Gd). These results further improve upon a promising plant virus-based nanocarrier system for use in targeted delivery of small-molecule drugs and imaging reagents in vivo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Krister J Barkovich
- Department of Radiology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Zhuohong Wu
- Department of NanoEngineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
- Center for Nano-ImmunoEngineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Zhongchao Zhao
- Department of NanoEngineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
- Center for Nano-ImmunoEngineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Andrea Simms
- Department of NanoEngineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
- Center for Nano-ImmunoEngineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Eric Y Chang
- Department of Radiology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
- Radiology Service, VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Nicole F Steinmetz
- Department of Radiology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
- Department of NanoEngineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
- Center for Nano-ImmunoEngineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
- Institute for Materials Discovery and Design, University of California, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
- Moores Cancer Center, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
- Center for Engineering in Cancer, Institute for Engineering in Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
- Shu and K.C. Chien and Peter Farrell Collaboratory, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
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Ogrina A, Balke I, Kalnciema I, Skrastina D, Jansons J, Bachmann MF, Zeltins A. Bacterial expression systems based on Tymovirus-like particles for the presentation of vaccine antigens. Front Microbiol 2023; 14:1154990. [PMID: 37032851 PMCID: PMC10076540 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1154990] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2023] [Accepted: 03/06/2023] [Indexed: 04/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Virus-like particles (VLPs) are virus-derived artificial nanostructures that resemble a native virus-stimulating immune system through highly repetitive surface structures. Improved safety profiles, flexibility in vaccine construction, and the ease of VLP production and purification have highlighted VLPs as attractive candidates for universal vaccine platform generation, although exploration of different types of expression systems for their development is needed. Here, we demonstrate the construction of several simple Escherichia coli expression systems for the generation of eggplant mosaic virus (EMV) VLP-derived vaccines. We used different principles of antigen incorporation, including direct fusion of EMV coat protein (CP) with major cat allergen Feld1, coexpression of antigen containing and unmodified (mosaic) EMV CPs, and two coexpression variants of EMV VLPs and antigen using synthetic zipper pair 18/17 (SYNZIP 18/17), and coiled-coil forming peptides E and K (Ecoil/Kcoil). Recombinant Fel d 1 chemically coupled to EMV VLPs was included as control experiments. All EMV-Feld1 variants were expressed in E. coli, formed Tymovirus-like VLPs, and were used for immunological evaluation in healthy mice. The immunogenicity of these newly developed vaccine candidates demonstrated high titers of Feld1-specific Ab production; however, a comparably high immune response against carrier EMV was also observed. Antibody avidity tests revealed very specific Ab production (more than 50% specificity) for four out of the five vaccine candidates. Native Feld1 recognition and subclass-specific antibody tests suggested that the EMV-SZ18/17-Feld1 complex and chemically coupled EMV-Feld1 vaccines may possess characteristics for further development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anete Ogrina
- Latvian Biomedical Research and Study Centre, Riga, Latvia
| | - Ina Balke
- Latvian Biomedical Research and Study Centre, Riga, Latvia
| | - Ieva Kalnciema
- Latvian Biomedical Research and Study Centre, Riga, Latvia
| | - Dace Skrastina
- Latvian Biomedical Research and Study Centre, Riga, Latvia
| | - Juris Jansons
- Latvian Biomedical Research and Study Centre, Riga, Latvia
| | - Martin F. Bachmann
- Department of BioMedical Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Andris Zeltins
- Latvian Biomedical Research and Study Centre, Riga, Latvia
- *Correspondence: Andris Zeltins,
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Vasques RM, Correa RFT, da Silva LA, Blawid R, Nagata T, Ribeiro BM, Ardisson-Araújo DMP. Assembly of tomato blistering mosaic virus-like particles using a baculovirus expression vector system. Arch Virol 2019; 164:1753-1760. [PMID: 31025116 DOI: 10.1007/s00705-019-04262-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2018] [Accepted: 03/27/2019] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
The expression of several structural proteins from a wide variety of viruses in heterologous cell culture systems results in the formation of virus-like particles (VLPs). These VLPs structurally resemble the wild-type virus particles and have been used to study viral assembly process and as antigens for diagnosis and/or vaccine development. Tomato blistering mosaic virus (ToBMV) is a tymovirus that has a 6.3-kb positive-sense ssRNA genome. We have employed the baculovirus expression vector system (BEVS) for the production of tymovirus-like particles (tVLPs) in insect cells. Two recombinant baculoviruses containing the ToBMV wild-type coat protein (CP) gene or a modified short amino-terminal deletion (Δ2-24CP) variant were constructed and used to infect insect cells. Both recombinant viruses were able to express ToBMV CP and Δ2-24CP from infected insect cells that self-assembled into tVLPs. Therefore, the N-terminal residues (2-24) of the native ToBMV CP were shown not to be essential for self-assembly of tVLPs. We also constructed a third recombinant baculovirus containing a small sequence coding for the major epitope of the chikungunya virus (CHIKV) envelope protein 2 (E2) replacing the native CP N-terminal 2-24 amino acids. This recombinant virus also produced tVLPs. In summary, ToBMV VLPs can be produced in a baculovirus/insect cell heterologous expression system, and the N-terminal residues 2-24 of the CP are not essential for this assembly, allowing its potential use as a protein carrier that facilitates antigen purification and might be used for diagnosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raquel Medeiros Vasques
- Laboratory of Microscopy and Virology, Cell Biology Department, University of Brasilia, Brasília, DF, Brazil
- Laboratory of Baculovirus, Cell Biology Department, University of Brasilia, Brasília, DF, Brazil
| | | | - Leonardo Assis da Silva
- Laboratory of Baculovirus, Cell Biology Department, University of Brasilia, Brasília, DF, Brazil
| | - Rosana Blawid
- Laboratory of Phytovirology, Department of Agronomy, Rural Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, PE, Brazil
| | - Tatsuya Nagata
- Laboratory of Microscopy and Virology, Cell Biology Department, University of Brasilia, Brasília, DF, Brazil
| | - Bergmann Morais Ribeiro
- Laboratory of Baculovirus, Cell Biology Department, University of Brasilia, Brasília, DF, Brazil
| | - Daniel M P Ardisson-Araújo
- Laboratory of Insect Virology, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Federal University of Santa Maria, Santa Maria, RS, 97105-900, Brazil.
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Sahithi KD, Nancy PA, Vishnu Vardhan GP, Kumanan K, Vijayarani K, Hema M. Detection of infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) antibodies using chimeric plant virus-like particles. Vet Microbiol 2019; 229:20-27. [PMID: 30642595 DOI: 10.1016/j.vetmic.2018.12.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2018] [Revised: 12/05/2018] [Accepted: 12/11/2018] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
The aim of the present study is to use Physalis mottle virus (PhMV) coat protein (CP) as a scaffold to display the neutralizing epitopes of Infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) VP2. For this, three different chimeric constructs were synthesized by replacing the N-terminus of PhMV CP with tandem repeats of neutralizing epitopes of IBDV VP2 and expressed in Escherichia coli. Expression analysis revealed that all the three recombinant chimeric coat protein subunits are soluble in nature and self-assembled into virus-like particles (VLPs) as evidenced through sucrose density gradient ultracentrifugation. The chimeric VLPs were characterized by various biochemical and biophysical techniques and found that they are stable and structurally sound. When the chimeric VLPs were used as coating antigen, they were able to detect IBDV antibodies. These results indicated that the chimeric VLPs can be used as potential vaccine candidates for the control of IBDV, which needs to be further evaluated in animal models.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Pandirajan Arul Nancy
- Department of Animal Biotechnology, Madras Veterinary College, Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
| | | | - Kathaperumal Kumanan
- Department of Animal Biotechnology, Madras Veterinary College, Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
| | - Kanagaraj Vijayarani
- Department of Animal Biotechnology, Madras Veterinary College, Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Masarapu Hema
- Department of Virology, Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, India.
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Ding X, Liu D, Booth G, Gao W, Lu Y. Virus-Like Particle Engineering: From Rational Design to Versatile Applications. Biotechnol J 2018; 13:e1700324. [PMID: 29453861 DOI: 10.1002/biot.201700324] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2017] [Revised: 01/31/2018] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
As mimicking natural virus structures, virus-like particles (VLPs) have evolved to become a widely accepted technology used for humans which are safe, highly efficacious, and profitable. Several remarkable advantages have been achieved to revolutionize the molecule delivery for diverse applications in nanotechnology, biotechnology, and medicine. Here, the rational structure design, manufacturing process, functionalization strategy, and emerging applications of VLPs is reviewed. The situation and challenges in the VLP engineering, the key development orientation, and future applications have been discussed. To develop a good VLP design concept, the virus/VLP-host interactions need to be examined and the screening methods of the VLP stabilization factors need to be established. The functionalization toolbox can be expanded to fabricate smart, robust, and multifunctional VLPs. Novel robust VLP manufacturing platforms are required to deliver vaccines in resource-poor regions with a significant reduction in the production time and cost. The future applications of VLPs are always driven by the development of emerging technologies and new requirements of modern life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuanwei Ding
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.,Department of Microbiology, Shenyang Normal University, Shenyang, China
| | - Dong Liu
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - George Booth
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Wei Gao
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.,Department of Microbiology, Shenyang Normal University, Shenyang, China
| | - Yuan Lu
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
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Masarapu H, Patel BK, Chariou PL, Hu H, Gulati NM, Carpenter BL, Ghiladi RA, Shukla S, Steinmetz NF. Physalis Mottle Virus-Like Particles as Nanocarriers for Imaging Reagents and Drugs. Biomacromolecules 2017; 18:4141-4153. [PMID: 29144726 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biomac.7b01196] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Platform technologies based on plant virus nanoparticles (VNPs) and virus-like particles (VLPs) are attracting the attention of researchers and clinicians because the particles are biocompatible, biodegradable, noninfectious in mammals, and can readily be chemically and genetically engineered to carry imaging agents and drugs. When the Physalis mottle virus (PhMV) coat protein is expressed in Escherichia coli, the resulting VLPs are nearly identical to the viruses formed in vivo. Here, we isolated PhMV-derived VLPs from ClearColi cells and carried out external and internal surface modification with fluorophores using reactive lysine-N-hydroxysuccinimide ester and cysteine-maleimide chemistries, respectively. The uptake of dye-labeled particles was tested in a range of cancer cells and monitored by confocal microscopy and flow cytometry. VLPs labeled internally on cysteine residues were taken up with high efficiency by several cancer cell lines and were colocalized with the endolysosomal marker LAMP-1 within 6 h, whereas VLPs labeled externally on lysine residues were taken up with lower efficiency, probably reflecting differences in surface charge and the propensity to bind to the cell surface. The infusion of dye and drug molecules into the cavity of the VLPs revealed that the photosensitizer (PS), Zn-EpPor, and the drugs crystal violet, mitoxantrone (MTX), and doxorubicin (DOX) associated stably with the carrier via noncovalent interactions. We confirmed the cytotoxicity of the PS-PhMV and DOX-PhMV particles against prostate cancer, ovarian and breast cancer cell lines, respectively. Our results show that PhMV-derived VLPs provide a new platform technology for the delivery of imaging agents and drugs, with preferential uptake into cancer cells. These particles could therefore be developed as multifunctional tools for cancer diagnosis and therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hema Masarapu
- Department of Virology, Sri Venkateswara University , Tirupati, 517 502 Andhra Pradesh, India
| | | | | | | | | | - Bradley L Carpenter
- Department of Chemistry, North Carolina State University , Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, United States
| | - Reza A Ghiladi
- Department of Chemistry, North Carolina State University , Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, United States
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