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Jiménez-Cabello L, Utrilla-Trigo S, Calvo-Pinilla E, Lorenzo G, Illescas-Amo M, Benavides J, Moreno S, Marín-López A, Nogales A, Ortego J. Co-expression of VP2, NS1 and NS2-Nt proteins by an MVA viral vector induces complete protection against bluetongue virus. Front Immunol 2024; 15:1440407. [PMID: 39072326 PMCID: PMC11272488 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1440407] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2024] [Accepted: 06/28/2024] [Indexed: 07/30/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Bluetongue (BT), caused by bluetongue virus (BTV), is an important arthropod-borne livestock disease listed by the World Organization for Animal Health. Live-attenuated and inactivated vaccines have permitted to control BT but they do not simultaneously protect against the myriad of BTV serotypes. Recently, we identified the highly conserved BTV nonstructural protein NS1 and the N-terminal region of NS2 as antigens capable of conferring multiserotype protection against BTV. Methods Here, we designed Modified Vaccinia Ankara (MVA) viral vectors that expressed BTV-4 proteins VP2 or VP7 along with NS1 and NS2-Nt as well as MVAs that expressed proteins VP2, VP7 or NS1 and NS2-Nt. Results Immunization of IFNAR(-/-) mice with two doses of MVA-NS1-2A-NS2-Nt protected mice from BTV-4M infection by the induction of an antigen-specific T cell immune response. Despite rMVA expressing VP7 alone were not protective in the IFNAR(-/-) mouse model, inclusion of VP7 in the vaccine formulation amplified the cell-mediated response induced by NS1 and NS2-Nt. Expression of VP2 elicited protective non-cross-reactive neutralizing antibodies (nAbs) in immunized animals and improved the protection observed in the MVA-NS1-2A-NS2-Nt immunized mice when these three BTV antigens were co-expressed. Moreover, vaccines candidates co-expressing VP2 or VP7 along with NS1 and NS2-Nt provided multiserotype protection. We assessed protective efficacy of both vaccine candidates in sheep against virulent challenge with BTV-4M. Discussion Immunization with MVA-VP7-NS1-2A-NS2-Nt partially dumped viral replication and clinical disease whereas administration of MVA-VP2-NS1-2A-NS2-Nt promoted a complete protection, preventing viraemia and the pathology produced by BTV infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis Jiménez-Cabello
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA), Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Sergio Utrilla-Trigo
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA), Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Eva Calvo-Pinilla
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA), Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Gema Lorenzo
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA), Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Miguel Illescas-Amo
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA), Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Julio Benavides
- Instituto de Ganadería de Montaña, CSIC-Universidad de León, León, Spain
| | - Sandra Moreno
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA), Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Alejandro Marín-López
- Section of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Aitor Nogales
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA), Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Javier Ortego
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA), Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
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Wendlandt T, Britz B, Kleinow T, Hipp K, Eber FJ, Wege C. Getting Hold of the Tobamovirus Particle-Why and How? Purification Routes over Time and a New Customizable Approach. Viruses 2024; 16:884. [PMID: 38932176 PMCID: PMC11209083 DOI: 10.3390/v16060884] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2024] [Revised: 05/24/2024] [Accepted: 05/27/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024] Open
Abstract
This article develops a multi-perspective view on motivations and methods for tobamovirus purification through the ages and presents a novel, efficient, easy-to-use approach that can be well-adapted to different species of native and functionalized virions. We survey the various driving forces prompting researchers to enrich tobamoviruses, from the search for the causative agents of mosaic diseases in plants to their increasing recognition as versatile nanocarriers in biomedical and engineering applications. The best practices and rarely applied options for the serial processing steps required for successful isolation of tobamoviruses are then reviewed. Adaptations for distinct particle species, pitfalls, and 'forgotten' or underrepresented technologies are considered as well. The article is topped off with our own development of a method for virion preparation, rooted in historical protocols. It combines selective re-solubilization of polyethylene glycol (PEG) virion raw precipitates with density step gradient centrifugation in biocompatible iodixanol formulations, yielding ready-to-use particle suspensions. This newly established protocol and some considerations for perhaps worthwhile further developments could serve as putative stepping stones towards preparation procedures appropriate for routine practical uses of these multivalent soft-matter nanorods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tim Wendlandt
- Institute of Biomaterials and Biomolecular Systems, Molecular and Synthetic Plant Virology, University of Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 57, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany; (T.W.); (B.B.); (T.K.)
| | - Beate Britz
- Institute of Biomaterials and Biomolecular Systems, Molecular and Synthetic Plant Virology, University of Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 57, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany; (T.W.); (B.B.); (T.K.)
| | - Tatjana Kleinow
- Institute of Biomaterials and Biomolecular Systems, Molecular and Synthetic Plant Virology, University of Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 57, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany; (T.W.); (B.B.); (T.K.)
| | - Katharina Hipp
- Electron Microscopy Facility, Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen, Max-Planck-Ring 5, 72076 Tübingen, Germany;
| | - Fabian J. Eber
- Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering, Offenburg University of Applied Sciences, Badstr. 24, 77652 Offenburg, Germany;
| | - Christina Wege
- Institute of Biomaterials and Biomolecular Systems, Molecular and Synthetic Plant Virology, University of Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 57, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany; (T.W.); (B.B.); (T.K.)
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3
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Pitchers KG, Boakye OD, Campeotto I, Daly JM. The Potential of Plant-Produced Virus-like Particle Vaccines for African Horse Sickness and Other Equine Orbiviruses. Pathogens 2024; 13:458. [PMID: 38921755 PMCID: PMC11206403 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens13060458] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2024] [Revised: 05/18/2024] [Accepted: 05/24/2024] [Indexed: 06/27/2024] Open
Abstract
African horse sickness is a devastating viral disease of equids. It is transmitted by biting midges of the genus Culicoides with mortalities reaching over 90% in naïve horses. It is endemic to sub-Saharan Africa and is seasonally endemic in many parts of southern Africa. However, outbreaks in Europe and Asia have occurred that caused significant economic issues. There are attenuated vaccines available for control of the virus but concerns regarding the safety and efficacy means that alternatives are sought. One promising alternative is the use of virus-like particles in vaccine preparations, which have the potential to be safer and more efficacious as vaccines against African horse sickness. These particles are best made in a complex, eukaryotic system, but due to technical challenges, this may cause significant economic strain on the developing countries most affected by the disease. Therefore, this review also summarises the success so far, and potential, of recombinant protein expression in plants to reduce the economic strain of production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kieran G. Pitchers
- One Virology, School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, Sutton Bonington, University of Nottingham, Nottinghamshire LE12 5RD, UK;
| | - Oliver D. Boakye
- School of Biosciences, Sutton Bonington, University of Nottingham, Nottinghamshire LE12 5RD, UK; (O.D.B.); (I.C.)
| | - Ivan Campeotto
- School of Biosciences, Sutton Bonington, University of Nottingham, Nottinghamshire LE12 5RD, UK; (O.D.B.); (I.C.)
| | - Janet M. Daly
- One Virology, School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, Sutton Bonington, University of Nottingham, Nottinghamshire LE12 5RD, UK;
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4
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Rutkowska DA, Du Plessis LH, Suleman E, O’Kennedy MM, Thimiri Govinda Raj DB, Lemmer Y. Development of a Plant-Expressed Subunit Vaccine against Brucellosis. Microorganisms 2024; 12:1047. [PMID: 38930429 PMCID: PMC11205566 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms12061047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2024] [Revised: 05/17/2024] [Accepted: 05/20/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Brucellosis is an important bacterial disease of livestock and the most common zoonotic disease. The current vaccines are effective but unsafe, as they result in animal abortions and are pathogenic to humans. Virus-like particles are being investigated as molecular scaffolds for foreign antigen presentation to the immune system. Here, we sought to develop a new-generation vaccine by presenting selected Brucella melitensis T cell epitopes on the surface of Orbivirus core-like particles (CLPs) and transiently expressing these chimeric particles in Nicotiana benthamiana plants. We successfully demonstrated the assembly of five chimeric CLPs in N. benthamiana plants, with each CLP presenting a different T cell epitope. The safety and protective efficacy of three of the highest-yielding CLPs was investigated in a mouse model of brucellosis. All three plant-expressed chimeric CLPs were safe when inoculated into BALB/c mice at specific antigen doses. However, only one chimeric CLP induced protection against the virulent Brucella strain challenge equivalent to the protection induced by the commercial Rev1 vaccine. Here, we have successfully shown the assembly, safety and protective efficacy of plant-expressed chimeric CLPs presenting B. melitensis T cell epitopes. This is the first step in the development of a safe and efficacious subunit vaccine against brucellosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daria A. Rutkowska
- Advanced Agriculture and Food Cluster, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Pretoria 0001, South Africa;
| | - Lissinda H. Du Plessis
- Centre of Excellence for Pharmaceutical Sciences (PharmacenTM), North-West University, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa;
| | - Essa Suleman
- Advanced Agriculture and Food Cluster, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Pretoria 0001, South Africa;
| | - Martha M. O’Kennedy
- Future Production and Chemicals Cluster, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Pretoria 0001, South Africa; (M.M.O.); (Y.L.)
| | - Deepak B. Thimiri Govinda Raj
- Synthetic Biology and Precision Medicine Centre, Future Production and Chemicals Cluster, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Pretoria 0001, South Africa;
| | - Yolandy Lemmer
- Future Production and Chemicals Cluster, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Pretoria 0001, South Africa; (M.M.O.); (Y.L.)
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Zahmanova G, Aljabali AAA, Takova K, Minkov G, Tambuwala MM, Minkov I, Lomonossoff GP. Green Biologics: Harnessing the Power of Plants to Produce Pharmaceuticals. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:17575. [PMID: 38139405 PMCID: PMC10743837 DOI: 10.3390/ijms242417575] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2023] [Revised: 12/11/2023] [Accepted: 12/15/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Plants are increasingly used for the production of high-quality biological molecules for use as pharmaceuticals and biomaterials in industry. Plants have proved that they can produce life-saving therapeutic proteins (Elelyso™-Gaucher's disease treatment, ZMapp™-anti-Ebola monoclonal antibodies, seasonal flu vaccine, Covifenz™-SARS-CoV-2 virus-like particle vaccine); however, some of these therapeutic proteins are difficult to bring to market, which leads to serious difficulties for the manufacturing companies. The closure of one of the leading companies in the sector (the Canadian biotech company Medicago Inc., producer of Covifenz) as a result of the withdrawal of investments from the parent company has led to the serious question: What is hindering the exploitation of plant-made biologics to improve health outcomes? Exploring the vast potential of plants as biological factories, this review provides an updated perspective on plant-derived biologics (PDB). A key focus is placed on the advancements in plant-based expression systems and highlighting cutting-edge technologies that streamline the production of complex protein-based biologics. The versatility of plant-derived biologics across diverse fields, such as human and animal health, industry, and agriculture, is emphasized. This review also meticulously examines regulatory considerations specific to plant-derived biologics, shedding light on the disparities faced compared to biologics produced in other systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gergana Zahmanova
- Department of Plant Physiology and Molecular Biology, University of Plovdiv, 4000 Plovdiv, Bulgaria; (K.T.)
- Center of Plant Systems Biology and Biotechnology, 4000 Plovdiv, Bulgaria
| | - Alaa A. A. Aljabali
- Department of Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Yarmouk University, Irbid 21163, Jordan;
| | - Katerina Takova
- Department of Plant Physiology and Molecular Biology, University of Plovdiv, 4000 Plovdiv, Bulgaria; (K.T.)
| | - George Minkov
- Department of Plant Physiology and Molecular Biology, University of Plovdiv, 4000 Plovdiv, Bulgaria; (K.T.)
| | - Murtaza M. Tambuwala
- Lincoln Medical School, University of Lincoln, Brayford Pool Campus, Lincoln LN6 7TS, UK;
| | - Ivan Minkov
- Center of Plant Systems Biology and Biotechnology, 4000 Plovdiv, Bulgaria
- Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnologies, 4108 Markovo, Bulgaria
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Huang C, Cao C, Xu Z, Lin Y, Wu J, Weng Q, Liu Z, Jin Y, Chen P, Hua Q. A blocking ELISA based on virus-like nanoparticles chimerized with an antigenic epitope of ASFV P54 for detecting ASFV antibodies. Sci Rep 2023; 13:19928. [PMID: 37968284 PMCID: PMC10651890 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-47068-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2023] [Accepted: 11/08/2023] [Indexed: 11/17/2023] Open
Abstract
African swine fever virus (ASFV) is a highly lethal pathogen of domestic and wild pigs. Due to no vaccines or drugs available, early accurate diagnosis and eradication of infected animals are the most important measures for ASFV prevention and control. Bluetongue virus (BTV) core-like particles (CLPs) are non-infectious hollow nanoparticles assembled from the BTV VP3 and VP7 proteins, which could be used as a platform for presenting foreign epitopes. In this study, the secondary structure of BTV VP7 protein was analyzed and predicted using the IEDB Analysis resource. Based on the prediction results of the VP7 protein, the chimeric CLPs with an ASFV P54 epitope were successfully prepared through the BAC-to-BAC baculovirus expression system and sucrose gradient centrifugation. Based on the chimeric CLPs and mAb 2E4 against AFSV P54 epitope, a blocking ELISA for detecting AFSV antibodies was established, and its reaction conditions were optimized. Through comprehensive evaluation of the method, the results showed the chimeric CLPs-based blocking ELISA displayed the best detection performance, with an AUC of 0.9961, a sensitivity of 97.65%, and a specificity of 95.24% in ROC analysis. Compared with western blot and a commercial c-ELISA for detecting anti-ASFV antibodies, this method had an excellent agreement of 96.35% (kappa value = 0.911) and 97.76% (kappa value = 0.946) with the other tests, respectively. This ELISA also had high repeatability, with CV < 10%, and no cross-reaction with the serum antibodies against other swine viruses or Orbivirus. In brief, this was the first report on developing a blocking ELISA based on virus-like nanoparticles chimerized with an antigenic epitope of ASFV P54 for serological diagnosis of ASFV.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chaohua Huang
- Animal and Plant Inspection and Quarantine Center of Shenzhen Customs, Shenzhen, 518045, People's Republic of China
| | - Chenfu Cao
- Animal and Plant Inspection and Quarantine Center of Shenzhen Customs, Shenzhen, 518045, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhichao Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Life Science, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510006, People's Republic of China
| | - Yanxing Lin
- Animal and Plant Inspection and Quarantine Center of Shenzhen Customs, Shenzhen, 518045, People's Republic of China
| | - Jiang Wu
- Animal and Plant Inspection and Quarantine Center of Shenzhen Customs, Shenzhen, 518045, People's Republic of China
| | - Qiaoyu Weng
- Animal and Plant Inspection and Quarantine Center of Shenzhen Customs, Shenzhen, 518045, People's Republic of China
| | - Zheng Liu
- Kobilka Institute of Innovative Drug Discovery, School of Medicine, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, 518172, People's Republic of China
| | - Ye Jin
- Hu Nan Project Bioscience LTD, Changsha, 410137, People's Republic of China
| | - Peng Chen
- Shenzhen Biolove Technology CO., LTD., Shenzhen, 518110, People's Republic of China
| | - Qunyi Hua
- Animal and Plant Inspection and Quarantine Center of Shenzhen Customs, Shenzhen, 518045, People's Republic of China.
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Chattopadhyay A, Jailani AAK, Mandal B. Exigency of Plant-Based Vaccine against COVID-19 Emergence as Pandemic Preparedness. Vaccines (Basel) 2023; 11:1347. [PMID: 37631915 PMCID: PMC10458178 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines11081347] [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: 06/20/2023] [Revised: 08/02/2023] [Accepted: 08/03/2023] [Indexed: 08/29/2023] Open
Abstract
After two years since the declaration of COVID-19 as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO), more than six million deaths have occurred due to SARS-CoV-2, leading to an unprecedented disruption of the global economy. Fortunately, within a year, a wide range of vaccines, including pathogen-based inactivated and live-attenuated vaccines, replicating and non-replicating vector-based vaccines, nucleic acid (DNA and mRNA)-based vaccines, and protein-based subunit and virus-like particle (VLP)-based vaccines, have been developed to mitigate the severe impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. These vaccines have proven highly effective in reducing the severity of illness and preventing deaths. However, the availability and supply of COVID-19 vaccines have become an issue due to the prioritization of vaccine distribution in most countries. Additionally, as the virus continues to mutate and spread, questions have arisen regarding the effectiveness of vaccines against new strains of SARS-CoV-2 that can evade host immunity. The urgent need for booster doses to enhance immunity has been recognized. The scarcity of "safe and effective" vaccines has exacerbated global inequalities in terms of vaccine coverage. The development of COVID-19 vaccines has fallen short of the expectations set forth in 2020 and 2021. Furthermore, the equitable distribution of vaccines at the global and national levels remains a challenge, particularly in developing countries. In such circumstances, the exigency of plant virus-based vaccines has become apparent as a means to overcome supply shortages through fast manufacturing processes and to enable quick and convenient distribution to millions of people without the reliance on a cold chain system. Moreover, plant virus-based vaccines have demonstrated both safety and efficacy in eliciting robust cellular immunogenicity against COVID-19 pathogens. This review aims to shed light on the advantages and disadvantages of different types of vaccines developed against SARS-CoV-2 and provide an update on the current status of plant-based vaccines in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anirudha Chattopadhyay
- Pulses Research Station, Sardarkrushinagar Dantiwada Agricultural University, Sardarkrushinagar 385506, India;
| | - A. Abdul Kader Jailani
- Department of Plant Pathology, North Florida Research and Education Center, University of Florida, Quincy, FL 32351, USA
| | - Bikash Mandal
- Advanced Centre for Plant Virology, Division of Plant Pathology, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi 110012, India
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8
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Gwynn A, Mbewana S, Lubisi BA, Tshabalala HM, Rybicki EP, Meyers AE. Chimaeric plant-produced bluetongue virus particles as potential vaccine candidates. Arch Virol 2023; 168:179. [PMID: 37310539 DOI: 10.1007/s00705-023-05790-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2022] [Accepted: 04/29/2023] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Bluetongue virus (BTV) causes bluetongue disease in ruminants and sheep. The current live attenuated and inactivated vaccines available for prevention pose several risks, and there is thus a need for vaccines that are safer, economically viable, and effective against multiple circulating serotypes. This work describes the development of recombinant virus-like particle (VLP) vaccine candidates in plants, which are assembled by co-expression of the four BTV serotype 8 major structural proteins. We show that substitution of a neutralising tip domain of BTV8 VP2 with that of BTV1 VP2 resulted in the assembly of VLPs that stimulated serotype-specific antibodies as well as virus-specific neutralising antibodies.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Gwynn
- Biopharming Research Unit, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, 7700, South Africa
| | - S Mbewana
- Biopharming Research Unit, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, 7700, South Africa
| | - B A Lubisi
- Diagnostic Services Programme, ARC-Onderstepoort Veterinary Research Institute, Pretoria, 0110, South Africa
| | - H M Tshabalala
- Diagnostic Services Programme, ARC-Onderstepoort Veterinary Research Institute, Pretoria, 0110, South Africa
| | - E P Rybicki
- Biopharming Research Unit, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, 7700, South Africa
- Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Observatory, CapeTown, 7925, South Africa
| | - A E Meyers
- Biopharming Research Unit, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, 7700, South Africa.
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Kheirvari M, Liu H, Tumban E. Virus-like Particle Vaccines and Platforms for Vaccine Development. Viruses 2023; 15:1109. [PMID: 37243195 PMCID: PMC10223759 DOI: 10.3390/v15051109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2023] [Revised: 04/25/2023] [Accepted: 04/26/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Virus-like particles (VLPs) have gained a lot of interest within the past two decades. The use of VLP-based vaccines to protect against three infectious agents-hepatitis B virus, human papillomavirus, and hepatitis E virus-has been approved; they are very efficacious and offer long-lasting immune responses. Besides these, VLPs from other viral infectious agents (that infect humans, animals, plants, and bacteria) are under development. These VLPs, especially those from human and animal viruses, serve as stand-alone vaccines to protect against viruses from which the VLPs were derived. Additionally, VLPs, including those derived from plant and bacterial viruses, serve as platforms upon which to display foreign peptide antigens from other infectious agents or metabolic diseases such as cancer, i.e., they can be used to develop chimeric VLPs. The goal of chimeric VLPs is to enhance the immunogenicity of foreign peptides displayed on VLPs and not necessarily the platforms. This review provides a summary of VLP vaccines for human and veterinary use that have been approved and those that are under development. Furthermore, this review summarizes chimeric VLP vaccines that have been developed and tested in pre-clinical studies. Finally, the review concludes with a snapshot of the advantages of VLP-based vaccines such as hybrid/mosaic VLPs over conventional vaccine approaches such as live-attenuated and inactivated vaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Ebenezer Tumban
- School of Veterinary Medicine, Texas Tech University, Amarillo, TX 79106, USA
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Smith T, O’Kennedy MM, Ross CS, Lewis NS, Abolnik C. The production of Newcastle disease virus-like particles in Nicotiana benthamiana as potential vaccines. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2023; 14:1130910. [PMID: 36875611 PMCID: PMC9978804 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1130910] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2022] [Accepted: 01/30/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Newcastle disease (ND) is a highly contagious viral respiratory and neurological disease that has a severe impact on poultry production worldwide. In the present study, an expression platform was established for the transient production in N.bethamiana of ND virus-like particles (VLPs) for use as vaccines against ND. The expression of the ND Fusion (F) and/or Hemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HN) proteins of a genotype VII.2 strain formed ND VLPs in planta as visualized under the transmission electron microscope, and HN-containing VLPs agglutinated chicken erythrocytes with hemagglutination (HA) titres of up to 13 log2.The immunogenicity of the partially-purified ND VLPs was confirmed in specific-pathogen-free White leghorn chickens. Birds receiving a single intramuscular immunization with 1024 HA units (10 log2) of the F/HN ND VLPs administered with 20% [v/v] Emulsigen®-P adjuvant, seroconverted after 14 days with F- and HN-specific antibodies at ELISA titres of 5705.17 and HI geometric mean titres (GMTs) of 6.2 log2, respectively. Furthermore, these ND-specific antibodies successfully inhibited viral replication in vitro of two antigenically closely-related ND virus isolates, with virus-neutralization test GMTs of 3.47 and 3.4, respectively. Plant-produced ND VLPs have great potential as antigen-matched vaccines for poultry and other avian species that are highly immunogenic, cost-effective, and facilitate prompt updating to ensure improved protection against emerging ND field viruses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tanja Smith
- Department of Production Animal Studies, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Gauteng, Pretoria, South Africa
- Next Generation Health, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Martha M. O’Kennedy
- Department of Production Animal Studies, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Gauteng, Pretoria, South Africa
- Next Generation Health, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Craig S. Ross
- Avian Virology Department, Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), Woodham Lane, Addlestone, United Kingdom
| | - Nicola S. Lewis
- Avian Virology Department, Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), Woodham Lane, Addlestone, United Kingdom
- Department of Pathobiology and Population Sciences, Royal Veterinary College, Hatfield, United Kingdom
| | - Celia Abolnik
- Department of Production Animal Studies, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Gauteng, Pretoria, South Africa
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Truchado DA, Rincón S, Zurita L, Sánchez F, Ponz F. Isopeptide Bonding In Planta Allows Functionalization of Elongated Flexuous Proteinaceous Viral Nanoparticles, including Non-Viable Constructs by Other Means. Viruses 2023; 15:v15020375. [PMID: 36851591 PMCID: PMC9964325 DOI: 10.3390/v15020375] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2022] [Revised: 01/19/2023] [Accepted: 01/25/2023] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Plant viral nanoparticles (VNPs) have become an attractive platform for the development of novel nanotools in the last years because of their safety, inexpensive production, and straightforward functionalization. Turnip mosaic virus (TuMV) is one example of a plant-based VNP used as a nanobiotechnological platform either as virions or as virus-like particles (VLPs). Their functionalization mainly consists of coating their surface with the molecules of interest via chemical conjugation or genetic fusion. However, because of their limitations, these two methods sometimes result in non-viable constructs. In this paper, we applied the SpyTag/SpyCatcher technology as an alternative for the functionalization of TuMV VLPs with peptides and proteins. We chose as molecules of interest the green fluorescent protein (GFP) because of its good traceability, as well as the vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), given the previous unsuccessful attempts to functionalize TuMV VNPs by other methods. The successful conjugation of VLPs to GFP and VIP using SpyTag/SpyCatcher was confirmed through Western blot and electron microscopy. Moreover, the isopeptide bond between SpyTag and SpyCatcher occurred in vivo in co-agroinfiltrated Nicotiana benthamiana plants. These results demonstrated that SpyTag/SpyCatcher improves TuMV functionalization compared with previous approaches, thus implying the expansion of the application of the technology to elongated flexuous VNPs.
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12
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Esquirol L, McNeale D, Venturi M, Sainsbury F. Production and Purification of Virus-Like Particles by Transient Expression in Plants. Methods Mol Biol 2023; 2671:387-402. [PMID: 37308657 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-3222-2_22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Transient expression in plants has become a useful production system for virus-like particle (VLP) expression. High yields and flexible approaches to assembling complex VLPs, combine with ease of scale-up and inexpensive reagents to provide an attractive method for recombinant protein expression in general. Plants have demonstrated excellent capacity for the assembly and production of protein cages for use in vaccine design and nanotechnology. Furthermore, numerous virus structures have now been determined using plant-expressed VLPs, showing the utility of this approach in structural virology. Transient protein expression in plants uses common microbiology techniques, leading to a straightforward transformation procedure that does not result in stable transgenesis. In this chapter, we aim to provide a generic protocol for transient expression of VLPs in Nicotiana benthamiana using soil-free plant cultivation and a simple vacuum infiltration procedure, along with methodology for purifying VLPs from plant leaves.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lygie Esquirol
- Centre for Cell Factories and Biopolymers, Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery, Griffith University, Nathan, QLD, Australia
| | - Donna McNeale
- Centre for Cell Factories and Biopolymers, Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery, Griffith University, Nathan, QLD, Australia
| | - Micol Venturi
- Centre for Cell Factories and Biopolymers, Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery, Griffith University, Nathan, QLD, Australia
| | - Frank Sainsbury
- Centre for Cell Factories and Biopolymers, Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery, Griffith University, Nathan, QLD, Australia.
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13
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Coates RJ, Young MT, Scofield S. Optimising expression and extraction of recombinant proteins in plants. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2022; 13:1074531. [PMID: 36570881 PMCID: PMC9773421 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.1074531] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2022] [Accepted: 11/22/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Recombinant proteins are of paramount importance for research, industrial and medical use. Numerous expression chassis are available for recombinant protein production, and while bacterial and mammalian cell cultures are the most widely used, recent developments have positioned transgenic plant chassis as viable and often preferential options. Plant chassis are easily maintained at low cost, are hugely scalable, and capable of producing large quantities of protein bearing complex post-translational modification. Several protein targets, including antibodies and vaccines against human disease, have been successfully produced in plants, highlighting the significant potential of plant chassis. The aim of this review is to act as a guide to producing recombinant protein in plants, discussing recent progress in the field and summarising the factors that must be considered when utilising plants as recombinant protein expression systems, with a focus on optimising recombinant protein expression at the genetic level, and the subsequent extraction and purification of target proteins, which can lead to substantial improvements in protein stability, yield and purity.
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14
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McNeale D, Dashti N, Cheah LC, Sainsbury F. Protein cargo encapsulation by
virus‐like
particles: Strategies and applications. WIRES NANOMEDICINE AND NANOBIOTECHNOLOGY 2022; 15:e1869. [PMID: 36345849 DOI: 10.1002/wnan.1869] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2022] [Revised: 10/25/2022] [Accepted: 10/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Viruses and the recombinant protein cages assembled from their structural proteins, known as virus-like particles (VLPs), have gained wide interest as tools in biotechnology and nanotechnology. Detailed structural information and their amenability to genetic and chemical modification make them attractive systems for further engineering. This review describes the range of non-enveloped viruses that have been co-opted for heterologous protein cargo encapsulation and the strategies that have been developed to drive encapsulation. Spherical capsids of a range of sizes have been used as platforms for protein cargo encapsulation. Various approaches, based on native and non-native interactions between the cargo proteins and inner surface of VLP capsids, have been devised to drive encapsulation. Here, we outline the evolution of these approaches, discussing their benefits and limitations. Like the viruses from which they are derived, VLPs are of interest in both biomedical and materials applications. The encapsulation of protein cargo inside VLPs leads to numerous uses in both fundamental and applied biocatalysis and biomedicine, some of which are discussed herein. The applied science of protein-encapsulating VLPs is emerging as a research field with great potential. Developments in loading control, higher order assembly, and capsid optimization are poised to realize this potential in the near future. This article is categorized under: Nanotechnology Approaches to Biology > Nanoscale Systems in Biology Biology-Inspired Nanomaterials > Protein and Virus-Based Structures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Donna McNeale
- Centre for Cell Factories and Biopolymers, Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery Griffith University Nathan Queensland Australia
| | - Noor Dashti
- Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology The University of Queensland St Lucia Queensland Australia
| | - Li Chen Cheah
- Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology The University of Queensland St Lucia Queensland Australia
| | - Frank Sainsbury
- Centre for Cell Factories and Biopolymers, Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery Griffith University Nathan Queensland Australia
- Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology The University of Queensland St Lucia Queensland Australia
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15
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Bekker S, Huismans H, van Staden V. Generation of a Soluble African Horse Sickness Virus VP7 Protein Capable of Forming Core-like Particles. Viruses 2022; 14:1624. [PMID: 35893692 PMCID: PMC9331310 DOI: 10.3390/v14081624] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2022] [Revised: 07/12/2022] [Accepted: 07/21/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
A unique characteristic of the African horse sickness virus (AHSV) major core protein VP7 is that it is highly insoluble, and spontaneously forms crystalline particles in AHSV-infected cells and when expressed in vitro. The aggregation of AHSV VP7 into these crystals presents many problems in AHSV vaccine development, and it is unclear whether VP7 aggregation affects AHSV assembly or contributes to AHSV pathogenesis. Here, we set out to abolish VP7 self-assembly by targeting candidate amino acid regions on the surface of the VP7 trimer via site-directed mutagenesis. It was found that the substitution of seven amino acids resulted in the complete disruption of AHSV VP7 self-assembly, which abolished the formation of VP7 crystalline particles and converted VP7 to a fully soluble protein still capable of interacting with VP3 to form core-like particles. This work provides further insight into the formation of AHSV VP7 crystalline particles and the successful development of AHSV vaccines. It also paves the way for future research by drawing comparisons with similar viral phenomena observed in human virology.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Vida van Staden
- Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, University of Pretoria, Hatfield 0083, South Africa; (S.B.); (H.H.)
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16
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Jiménez-Cabello L, Utrilla-Trigo S, Barreiro-Piñeiro N, Pose-Boirazian T, Martínez-Costas J, Marín-López A, Ortego J. Nanoparticle- and Microparticle-Based Vaccines against Orbiviruses of Veterinary Importance. Vaccines (Basel) 2022; 10:vaccines10071124. [PMID: 35891288 PMCID: PMC9319458 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines10071124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2022] [Revised: 07/12/2022] [Accepted: 07/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Bluetongue virus (BTV) and African horse sickness virus (AHSV) are widespread arboviruses that cause important economic losses in the livestock and equine industries, respectively. In addition to these, another arthropod-transmitted orbivirus known as epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV) entails a major threat as there is a conducive landscape that nurtures its emergence in non-endemic countries. To date, only vaccinations with live attenuated or inactivated vaccines permit the control of these three viral diseases, although important drawbacks, e.g., low safety profile and effectiveness, and lack of DIVA (differentiation of infected from vaccinated animals) properties, constrain their usage as prophylactic measures. Moreover, a substantial number of serotypes of BTV, AHSV and EHDV have been described, with poor induction of cross-protective immune responses among serotypes. In the context of next-generation vaccine development, antigen delivery systems based on nano- or microparticles have gathered significant attention during the last few decades. A diversity of technologies, such as virus-like particles or self-assembled protein complexes, have been implemented for vaccine design against these viruses. In this work, we offer a comprehensive review of the nano- and microparticulated vaccine candidates against these three relevant orbiviruses. Additionally, we also review an innovative technology for antigen delivery based on the avian reovirus nonstructural protein muNS and we explore the prospective functionality of the nonstructural protein NS1 nanotubules as a BTV-based delivery platform.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis Jiménez-Cabello
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA-INIA/CSIC), 28130 Madrid, Spain; (L.J.-C.); (S.U.-T.)
- Centro Singular de Investigación en Química Biológica y Materiales Moleculares (CIQUS), Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain; (N.B.-P.); (T.P.-B.); (J.M.-C.)
| | - Sergio Utrilla-Trigo
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA-INIA/CSIC), 28130 Madrid, Spain; (L.J.-C.); (S.U.-T.)
| | - Natalia Barreiro-Piñeiro
- Centro Singular de Investigación en Química Biológica y Materiales Moleculares (CIQUS), Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain; (N.B.-P.); (T.P.-B.); (J.M.-C.)
| | - Tomás Pose-Boirazian
- Centro Singular de Investigación en Química Biológica y Materiales Moleculares (CIQUS), Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain; (N.B.-P.); (T.P.-B.); (J.M.-C.)
| | - José Martínez-Costas
- Centro Singular de Investigación en Química Biológica y Materiales Moleculares (CIQUS), Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain; (N.B.-P.); (T.P.-B.); (J.M.-C.)
| | - Alejandro Marín-López
- Section of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06519, USA;
| | - Javier Ortego
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA-INIA/CSIC), 28130 Madrid, Spain; (L.J.-C.); (S.U.-T.)
- Correspondence:
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17
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Jung J, Zahmanova G, Minkov I, Lomonossoff GP. Plant-based expression and characterization of SARS-CoV-2 virus-like particles presenting a native spike protein. PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL 2022; 20:1363-1372. [PMID: 35325498 PMCID: PMC9115404 DOI: 10.1111/pbi.13813] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2021] [Revised: 02/21/2022] [Accepted: 03/10/2022] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
We have investigated the use of transient expression to produce virus-like particles (VLPs) of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, the causative agent of COVID-19, in Nicotiana benthamiana. Expression of a native form of the spike (S) protein, either alone or in combination with the envelope (E) and membrane (M) proteins, all of which were directed to the plant membranes via their native sequences, was assessed. The full-length S protein, together with degradation products, could be detected in total protein extracts from infiltrated leaves in both cases. Particles with a characteristic 'crown-shaped' or 'spiky' structure could be purified by density gradient centrifugation. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays using anti-S antibodies showed that threefold higher levels of VLPs containing the full-length S protein were obtained by infiltration with S alone, compared to co-infiltration of S with M and E. The S protein within the VLPs could be cleaved by furin in vitro and the particles showed reactivity with serum from recovering COVID-19 patients, but not with human serum taken before the pandemic. These studies show that the native S protein expressed in plants has biological properties similar to those of the parent virus. We show that the approach undertaken is suitable for the production of VLPs from emerging strains and we anticipate that the material will be suitable for functional studies of the S protein, including the assessment of the effects of specific mutations. As the plant-made material is noninfectious, it does not have to be handled under conditions of high containment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jae‐Wan Jung
- Department of Biochemistry and MetabolismJohn Innes CentreNorwich Research ParkNorwichUK
- Department of Molecular BiologyJeonbuk National UniversityJeonjuKorea
| | - Gergana Zahmanova
- Department of Plant Physiology and Molecular BiologyUniversity of PlovdivPlovdivBulgaria
- Center of Plant Systems Biology and BiotechnologyPlovdivBulgaria
| | - Ivan Minkov
- Center of Plant Systems Biology and BiotechnologyPlovdivBulgaria
- Institute of Molecular Biology and BiotechnologiesMarkovoBulgaria
| | - George P. Lomonossoff
- Department of Biochemistry and MetabolismJohn Innes CentreNorwich Research ParkNorwichUK
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18
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Edwardson TGW, Levasseur MD, Tetter S, Steinauer A, Hori M, Hilvert D. Protein Cages: From Fundamentals to Advanced Applications. Chem Rev 2022; 122:9145-9197. [PMID: 35394752 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.1c00877] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Proteins that self-assemble into polyhedral shell-like structures are useful molecular containers both in nature and in the laboratory. Here we review efforts to repurpose diverse protein cages, including viral capsids, ferritins, bacterial microcompartments, and designed capsules, as vaccines, drug delivery vehicles, targeted imaging agents, nanoreactors, templates for controlled materials synthesis, building blocks for higher-order architectures, and more. A deep understanding of the principles underlying the construction, function, and evolution of natural systems has been key to tailoring selective cargo encapsulation and interactions with both biological systems and synthetic materials through protein engineering and directed evolution. The ability to adapt and design increasingly sophisticated capsid structures and functions stands to benefit the fields of catalysis, materials science, and medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Stephan Tetter
- Laboratory of Organic Chemistry, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Angela Steinauer
- Laboratory of Organic Chemistry, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Mao Hori
- Laboratory of Organic Chemistry, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Donald Hilvert
- Laboratory of Organic Chemistry, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
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19
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Moon KB, Jeon JH, Choi H, Park JS, Park SJ, Lee HJ, Park JM, Cho HS, Moon JS, Oh H, Kang S, Mason HS, Kwon SY, Kim HS. Construction of SARS-CoV-2 virus-like particles in plant. Sci Rep 2022; 12:1005. [PMID: 35046461 PMCID: PMC8770512 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-04883-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2021] [Accepted: 12/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The pandemic of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused a public health emergency, and research on the development of various types of vaccines is rapidly progressing at an unprecedented development speed internationally. Some vaccines have already been approved for emergency use and are being supplied to people around the world, but there are still many ongoing efforts to create new vaccines. Virus-like particles (VLPs) enable the construction of promising platforms in the field of vaccine development. Here, we demonstrate that non-infectious SARS-CoV-2 VLPs can be successfully assembled by co-expressing three important viral proteins membrane (M), envelop (E) and nucleocapsid (N) in plants. Plant-derived VLPs were purified by sedimentation through a sucrose cushion. The shape and size of plant-derived VLPs are similar to native SARS-CoV-2 VLPs without spike. Although the assembled VLPs do not have S protein spikes, they could be developed as formulations that can improve the immunogenicity of vaccines including S antigens, and further could be used as platforms that can carry S antigens of concern for various mutations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ki-Beom Moon
- Plant Systems Engineering Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, 125 Gwahak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Jae-Heung Jeon
- Plant Systems Engineering Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, 125 Gwahak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyukjun Choi
- Department of Biological Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, UNIST-Gil 50, Ulsan, 44919, Republic of Korea
| | - Ji-Sun Park
- Plant Systems Engineering Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, 125 Gwahak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Su-Jin Park
- Plant Systems Engineering Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, 125 Gwahak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyo-Jun Lee
- Plant Systems Engineering Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, 125 Gwahak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Jeong Mee Park
- Plant Systems Engineering Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, 125 Gwahak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Hye Sun Cho
- Plant Systems Engineering Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, 125 Gwahak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Jae Sun Moon
- Plant Systems Engineering Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, 125 Gwahak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyunwoo Oh
- Core Facility Management Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, 125 Gwahak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Sebyung Kang
- Department of Biological Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, UNIST-Gil 50, Ulsan, 44919, Republic of Korea
| | - Hugh S Mason
- Center for Immunotherapy, Vaccines, and Virotherapy (CIVV), The Biodesign Institute at ASU, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA
| | - Suk-Yoon Kwon
- Plant Systems Engineering Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, 125 Gwahak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea.
| | - Hyun-Soon Kim
- Plant Systems Engineering Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, 125 Gwahak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea.
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20
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Ortega-Berlanga B, Pniewski T. Plant-Based Vaccines in Combat against Coronavirus Diseases. Vaccines (Basel) 2022; 10:138. [PMID: 35214597 PMCID: PMC8876659 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines10020138] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2021] [Revised: 01/06/2022] [Accepted: 01/14/2022] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Coronavirus (CoV) diseases, including Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) have gained in importance worldwide, especially with the current COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2. Due to the huge global demand, various types of vaccines have been developed, such as more traditional attenuated or inactivated viruses, subunit and VLP-based vaccines, as well as novel DNA and RNA vaccines. Nonetheless, emerging new COVID-19 variants are necessitating continuous research on vaccines, including these produced in plants, either via stable expression in transgenic or transplastomic plants or transient expression using viral vectors or agroinfection. Plant systems provide low cost, high scalability, safety and capacity to produce multimeric or glycosylated proteins. To date, from among CoVs antigens, spike and capsid proteins have been produced in plants, mostly using transient expression systems, at the additional advantage of rapid production. Immunogenicity of plant-produced CoVs proteins was positively evaluated after injection of purified antigens. However, this review indicates that plant-produced CoVs proteins or their carrier-fused immunodominant epitopes can be potentially applied also as mucosal vaccines, either after purification to be administered to particular membranes (nasal, bronchus mucosa) associated with the respiratory system, or as oral vaccines obtained from partly processed plant tissue.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benita Ortega-Berlanga
- Institute of Plant Genetics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Strzeszyńska 34, 60-479 Poznań, Poland;
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21
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Vaccination as a Strategy to Prevent Bluetongue Virus Vertical Transmission. Pathogens 2021; 10:pathogens10111528. [PMID: 34832683 PMCID: PMC8622840 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens10111528] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2021] [Revised: 11/13/2021] [Accepted: 11/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Bluetongue virus (BTV) produces an economically important disease in ruminants of compulsory notification to the OIE. BTV is typically transmitted by the bite of Culicoides spp., however, some BTV strains can be transmitted vertically, and this is associated with fetus malformations and abortions. The viral factors associated with the virus potency to cross the placental barrier are not well defined. The potency of vertical transmission is retained and sometimes even increased in live attenuated BTV vaccine strains. Because BTV possesses a segmented genome, the possibility of reassortment of vaccination strains with wild-type virus could even favor the transmission of this phenotype. In the present review, we will describe the non-vector-based BTV infection routes and discuss the experimental vaccination strategies that offer advantages over this drawback of some live attenuated BTV vaccines.
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22
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Saminathan M, Singh KP, Khorajiya JH, Dinesh M, Vineetha S, Maity M, Rahman AF, Misri J, Malik YS, Gupta VK, Singh RK, Dhama K. An updated review on bluetongue virus: epidemiology, pathobiology, and advances in diagnosis and control with special reference to India. Vet Q 2021; 40:258-321. [PMID: 33003985 PMCID: PMC7655031 DOI: 10.1080/01652176.2020.1831708] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Bluetongue (BT) is an economically important, non-contagious viral disease of domestic and wild ruminants. BT is caused by BT virus (BTV) and it belongs to the genus Orbivirus and family Reoviridae. BTV is transmitted by Culicoides midges and causes clinical disease in sheep, white-tailed deer, pronghorn antelope, bighorn sheep, and subclinical manifestation in cattle, goats and camelids. BT is a World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) listed multispecies disease and causes great socio-economic losses. To date, 28 serotypes of BTV have been reported worldwide and 23 serotypes have been reported from India. Transplacental transmission (TPT) and fetal abnormalities in ruminants had been reported with cell culture adopted live-attenuated vaccine strains of BTV. However, emergence of BTV-8 in Europe during 2006, confirmed TPT of wild-type/field strains of BTV. Diagnosis of BT is more important for control of disease and to ensure BTV-free trade of animals and their products. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, agar gel immunodiffusion assay and competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay are found to be sensitive and OIE recommended tests for diagnosis of BTV for international trade. Control measures include mass vaccination (most effective method), serological and entomological surveillance, forming restriction zones and sentinel programs. Major hindrances with control of BT in India are the presence of multiple BTV serotypes, high density of ruminant and vector populations. A pentavalent inactivated, adjuvanted vaccine is administered currently in India to control BT. Recombinant vaccines with DIVA strategies are urgently needed to combat this disease. This review is the first to summarise the seroprevalence of BTV in India for 40 years, economic impact and pathobiology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mani Saminathan
- Division of Pathology, ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Karam Pal Singh
- Division of Pathology, ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | | | - Murali Dinesh
- Division of Pathology, ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Sobharani Vineetha
- Division of Pathology, ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Madhulina Maity
- Division of Pathology, ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - At Faslu Rahman
- Division of Pathology, ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Jyoti Misri
- Animal Science Division, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi, India
| | - Yashpal Singh Malik
- Division of Biological Standardization, ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Vivek Kumar Gupta
- Centre for Animal Disease Research and Diagnosis, ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Raj Kumar Singh
- Director, ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Kuldeep Dhama
- Division of Pathology, ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India
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23
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Fay PC, Mohd Jaafar F, Batten C, Attoui H, Saunders K, Lomonossoff GP, Reid E, Horton D, Maan S, Haig D, Daly JM, Mertens PPC. Serological Cross-Reactions between Expressed VP2 Proteins from Different Bluetongue Virus Serotypes. Viruses 2021; 13:1455. [PMID: 34452321 PMCID: PMC8402635 DOI: 10.3390/v13081455] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2021] [Revised: 07/14/2021] [Accepted: 07/19/2021] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Bluetongue (BT) is a severe and economically important disease of ruminants that is widely distributed around the world, caused by the bluetongue virus (BTV). More than 28 different BTV serotypes have been identified in serum neutralisation tests (SNT), which, along with geographic variants (topotypes) within each serotype, reflect differences in BTV outer-capsid protein VP2. VP2 is the primary target for neutralising antibodies, although the basis for cross-reactions and serological variations between and within BTV serotypes is poorly understood. Recombinant BTV VP2 proteins (rVP2) were expressed in Nicotiana benthamiana, based on sequence data for isolates of thirteen BTV serotypes (primarily from Europe), including three 'novel' serotypes (BTV-25, -26 and -27) and alternative topotypes of four serotypes. Cross-reactions within and between these viruses were explored using rabbit anti-rVP2 sera and post BTV-infection sheep reference-antisera, in I-ELISA (with rVP2 target antigens) and SNT (with reference strains of BTV-1 to -24, -26 and -27). Strong reactions were generally detected with homologous rVP2 proteins or virus strains/serotypes. The sheep antisera were largely serotype-specific in SNT, but more cross-reactive by ELISA. Rabbit antisera were more cross-reactive in SNT, and showed widespread, high titre cross-reactions against homologous and heterologous rVP2 proteins in ELISA. Results were analysed and visualised by antigenic cartography, showing closer relationships in some, but not all cases, between VP2 topotypes within the same serotype, and between serotypes belonging to the same 'VP2 nucleotype'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Petra C. Fay
- School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, Loughborough LE12 5RD, UK; (P.C.F.); (E.R.); (D.H.); (J.M.D.)
- The Pirbright Institute, Surrey, Woking GU24 ONF, UK;
| | - Fauziah Mohd Jaafar
- UMR VIROLOGIE 1161, INRAE, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d’Alfort, ANSES, Université Paris-Est, F-94700 Maisons-Alfort, France; (F.M.J.); (H.A.)
| | - Carrie Batten
- The Pirbright Institute, Surrey, Woking GU24 ONF, UK;
| | - Houssam Attoui
- UMR VIROLOGIE 1161, INRAE, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d’Alfort, ANSES, Université Paris-Est, F-94700 Maisons-Alfort, France; (F.M.J.); (H.A.)
| | - Keith Saunders
- John Innes Centre, Department of Biochemistry and Metabolism, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK; (K.S.); (G.P.L.)
| | - George P. Lomonossoff
- John Innes Centre, Department of Biochemistry and Metabolism, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK; (K.S.); (G.P.L.)
| | - Elizabeth Reid
- School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, Loughborough LE12 5RD, UK; (P.C.F.); (E.R.); (D.H.); (J.M.D.)
| | - Daniel Horton
- Pathology and Infectious Diseases, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK;
| | - Sushila Maan
- Department of Animal Biotechnology, Lala Lajpat Rai University of Veterinary & Animal Sciences, Hisar 125004, India;
| | - David Haig
- School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, Loughborough LE12 5RD, UK; (P.C.F.); (E.R.); (D.H.); (J.M.D.)
| | - Janet M. Daly
- School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, Loughborough LE12 5RD, UK; (P.C.F.); (E.R.); (D.H.); (J.M.D.)
| | - Peter P. C. Mertens
- School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, Loughborough LE12 5RD, UK; (P.C.F.); (E.R.); (D.H.); (J.M.D.)
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24
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Producing Vaccines against Enveloped Viruses in Plants: Making the Impossible, Difficult. Vaccines (Basel) 2021; 9:vaccines9070780. [PMID: 34358196 PMCID: PMC8310165 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines9070780] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2021] [Revised: 07/07/2021] [Accepted: 07/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The past 30 years have seen the growth of plant molecular farming as an approach to the production of recombinant proteins for pharmaceutical and biotechnological uses. Much of this effort has focused on producing vaccine candidates against viral diseases, including those caused by enveloped viruses. These represent a particular challenge given the difficulties associated with expressing and purifying membrane-bound proteins and achieving correct assembly. Despite this, there have been notable successes both from a biochemical and a clinical perspective, with a number of clinical trials showing great promise. This review will explore the history and current status of plant-produced vaccine candidates against enveloped viruses to date, with a particular focus on virus-like particles (VLPs), which mimic authentic virus structures but do not contain infectious genetic material.
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Castells-Graells R, Ribeiro JRS, Domitrovic T, Hesketh EL, Scarff CA, Johnson JE, Ranson NA, Lawson DM, Lomonossoff GP. Plant-expressed virus-like particles reveal the intricate maturation process of a eukaryotic virus. Commun Biol 2021; 4:619. [PMID: 34031522 PMCID: PMC8144610 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-021-02134-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2021] [Accepted: 04/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Many virus capsids undergo exquisitely choreographed maturation processes in their host cells to produce infectious virions, and these remain poorly understood. As a tool for studying virus maturation, we transiently expressed the capsid protein of the insect virus Nudaurelia capensis omega virus (NωV) in Nicotiana benthamiana and were able to purify both immature procapsids and mature capsids from infiltrated leaves by varying the expression time. Cryo-EM analysis of the plant-produced procapsids and mature capsids to 6.6 Å and 2.7 Å resolution, respectively, reveals that in addition to large scale rigid body motions, internal regions of the subunits are extensively remodelled during maturation, creating the active site required for autocatalytic cleavage and infectivity. The mature particles are biologically active in terms of their ability to lyse membranes and have a structure that is essentially identical to authentic virus. The ability to faithfully recapitulate and visualize a complex maturation process in plants, including the autocatalytic cleavage of the capsid protein, has revealed a ~30 Å translation-rotation of the subunits during maturation as well as conformational rearrangements in the N and C-terminal helical regions of each subunit.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roger Castells-Graells
- Department of Biological Chemistry, John Innes Centre, Colney, UK
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Jonas R S Ribeiro
- Virology Department, Instituto de Microbiologia Paulo de Goes, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Tatiana Domitrovic
- Virology Department, Instituto de Microbiologia Paulo de Goes, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Emma L Hesketh
- Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, School of Molecular & Cellular Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | - Charlotte A Scarff
- Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, School of Molecular & Cellular Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | - John E Johnson
- Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Neil A Ranson
- Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, School of Molecular & Cellular Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | - David M Lawson
- Department of Biological Chemistry, John Innes Centre, Colney, UK
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Ponndorf D, Meshcheriakova Y, Thuenemann EC, Dobon Alonso A, Overman R, Holton N, Dowall S, Kennedy E, Stocks M, Lomonossoff GP, Peyret H. Plant-made dengue virus-like particles produced by co-expression of structural and non-structural proteins induce a humoral immune response in mice. PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL 2021; 19:745-756. [PMID: 33099859 PMCID: PMC8051607 DOI: 10.1111/pbi.13501] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2020] [Revised: 10/05/2020] [Accepted: 10/20/2020] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Dengue virus (DENV) is an emerging threat causing an estimated 390 million infections per year. Dengvaxia, the only licensed vaccine, may not be adequately safe in young and seronegative patients; hence, development of a safer, more effective vaccine is of great public health interest. Virus-like particles (VLPs) are a safe and very efficient vaccine strategy, and DENV VLPs have been produced in various expression systems. Here, we describe the production of DENV VLPs in Nicotiana benthamiana using transient expression. The co-expression of DENV structural proteins (SP) and a truncated version of the non-structural proteins (NSPs), lacking NS5 that contains the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, led to the assembly of DENV VLPs in plants. These VLPs were comparable in appearance and size to VLPs produced in mammalian cells. Contrary to data from other expression systems, expression of the protein complex prM-E was not successful, and strategies used in other expression systems to improve the VLP yield did not result in increased yields in plants but, rather, increased purification difficulties. Immunogenicity assays in BALB/c mice revealed that plant-made DENV1-SP + NSP VLPs led to a higher antibody response in mice compared with DENV-E domain III displayed inside bluetongue virus core-like particles and a DENV-E domain III subunit. These results are consistent with the idea that VLPs could be the optimal approach to creating candidate vaccines against enveloped viruses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Ponndorf
- Department of Biological ChemistryJohn Innes CentreNorwich Research ParkNorwichUK
| | - Yulia Meshcheriakova
- Department of Biological ChemistryJohn Innes CentreNorwich Research ParkNorwichUK
| | - Eva C. Thuenemann
- Department of Biological ChemistryJohn Innes CentreNorwich Research ParkNorwichUK
| | | | - Ross Overman
- Leaf Expression SystemsNorwich Research ParkNorwichUK
| | | | | | | | - Martin Stocks
- Plant Bioscience LimitedNorwich Research ParkNorwichUK
| | | | - Hadrien Peyret
- Department of Biological ChemistryJohn Innes CentreNorwich Research ParkNorwichUK
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Hepatitis B core-based virus-like particles: A platform for vaccine development in plants. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2021; 29:e00605. [PMID: 33732633 PMCID: PMC7937989 DOI: 10.1016/j.btre.2021.e00605] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2020] [Revised: 02/17/2021] [Accepted: 02/25/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Virus-like particles (VLPs) are a class of structures formed by the self-assembly of viral capsid protein subunits and contain no infective viral genetic material. The Hepatitis B core (HBc) antigen is capable of assembling into VLPs that can elicit strong immune responses and has been licensed as a commercial vaccine against Hepatitis B. The HBc VLPs have also been employed as a platform for the presentation of foreign epitopes to the immune system and have been used to develop vaccines against, for example, influenza A and Foot-and-mouth disease. Plant expression systems are rapid, scalable and safe, and are capable of providing correct post-translational modifications and reducing upstream production costs. The production of HBc-based virus-like particles in plants would thus greatly increase the efficiency of vaccine production. This review investigates the application of plant-based HBc VLP as a platform for vaccine production.
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28
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Thuenemann EC, Le DHT, Lomonossoff GP, Steinmetz NF. Bluetongue Virus Particles as Nanoreactors for Enzyme Delivery and Cancer Therapy. Mol Pharm 2021; 18:1150-1156. [PMID: 33566625 DOI: 10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.0c01053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
The side effects of chemotherapy can be reduced by targeting tumor cells with an enzyme (or the corresponding gene) that converts a nontoxic prodrug into a toxic drug inside the tumor cells, also killing the surrounding tumor cells via the bystander effect. Viruses are the most efficient gene delivery vehicles because they have evolved to transfer their own nucleic acids into cells, but their efficiency must be balanced against the risks of infection, the immunogenicity of nucleic acids, and the potential for genomic integration. We therefore tested the effectiveness of genome-free virus-like particles (VLPs) for the delivery of Herpes simplex virus 1 thymidine kinase (HSV1-TK), the most common enzyme used in prodrug conversion therapy. HSV1-TK is typically delivered as a gene, but in the context of VLPs, it must be delivered as a protein. We constructed VLPs and smaller core-like particles (CLPs) based on Bluetongue virus, with HSV1-TK fused to the inner capsid protein VP3. TK-CLPs and TK-VLPs could be produced in large quantities in plants. The TK-VLPs killed human glioblastoma cells efficiently in the presence of ganciclovir, with an IC50 value of 14.8 μM. Conversely, CLPs were ineffective because they remained trapped in the endosomal compartment, in common with many synthetic nanoparticles. VLPs are advantageous because they can escape from endosomes and therefore allow HSV1-TK to access the cytosolic adenosine triphosphate (ATP) required for the phosphorylation of ganciclovir. The VLP delivery strategy of TK protein therefore offers a promising new modality for the treatment of cancer with systemic prodrugs such as ganciclovir.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva C Thuenemann
- Department of Biological Chemistry, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, NR4 7UH Colney, United Kingdom
| | - Duc H T Le
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, United States.,Department of Biomedical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513 (STO 3.25), 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands.,Department of Biochemistry, Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences (RIMLS), Radboud University Medical Center, Geert Grooteplein 28, 6525 GA Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - George P Lomonossoff
- Department of Biological Chemistry, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, NR4 7UH Colney, United Kingdom
| | - Nicole F Steinmetz
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, United States
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29
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Margolin E, Crispin M, Meyers A, Chapman R, Rybicki EP. A Roadmap for the Molecular Farming of Viral Glycoprotein Vaccines: Engineering Glycosylation and Glycosylation-Directed Folding. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2020; 11:609207. [PMID: 33343609 PMCID: PMC7744475 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2020.609207] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2020] [Accepted: 11/09/2020] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Immunization with recombinant glycoprotein-based vaccines is a promising approach to induce protective immunity against viruses. However, the complex biosynthetic maturation requirements of these glycoproteins typically necessitate their production in mammalian cells to support their folding and post-translational modification. Despite these clear advantages, the incumbent costs and infrastructure requirements with this approach can be prohibitive in developing countries, and the production scales and timelines may prove limiting when applying these production systems to the control of pandemic viral outbreaks. Plant molecular farming of viral glycoproteins has been suggested as a cheap and rapidly scalable alternative production system, with the potential to perform post-translational modifications that are comparable to mammalian cells. Consequently, plant-produced glycoprotein vaccines for seasonal and pandemic influenza have shown promise in clinical trials, and vaccine candidates against the newly emergent severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 have entered into late stage preclinical and clinical testing. However, many other viral glycoproteins accumulate poorly in plants, and are not appropriately processed along the secretory pathway due to differences in the host cellular machinery. Furthermore, plant-derived glycoproteins often contain glycoforms that are antigenically distinct from those present on the native virus, and may also be under-glycosylated in some instances. Recent advances in the field have increased the complexity and yields of biologics that can be produced in plants, and have now enabled the expression of many viral glycoproteins which could not previously be produced in plant systems. In contrast to the empirical optimization that predominated during the early years of molecular farming, the next generation of plant-made products are being produced by developing rational, tailor-made approaches to support their production. This has involved the elimination of plant-specific glycoforms and the introduction into plants of elements of the biosynthetic machinery from different expression hosts. These approaches have resulted in the production of mammalian N-linked glycans and the formation of O-glycan moieties in planta. More recently, plant molecular engineering approaches have also been applied to improve the glycan occupancy of proteins which are not appropriately glycosylated, and to support the folding and processing of viral glycoproteins where the cellular machinery differs from the usual expression host of the protein. Here we highlight recent achievements and remaining challenges in glycoengineering and the engineering of glycosylation-directed folding pathways in plants, and discuss how these can be applied to produce recombinant viral glycoproteins vaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emmanuel Margolin
- Division of Medical Virology, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- Wellcome Trust Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Africa, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- Biopharming Research Unit, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Max Crispin
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
| | - Ann Meyers
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Ros Chapman
- Division of Medical Virology, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Edward P. Rybicki
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
- Biopharming Research Unit, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
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30
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Peyret H, Ponndorf D, Meshcheriakova Y, Richardson J, Lomonossoff GP. Covalent protein display on Hepatitis B core-like particles in plants through the in vivo use of the SpyTag/SpyCatcher system. Sci Rep 2020; 10:17095. [PMID: 33051543 PMCID: PMC7555512 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-74105-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2020] [Accepted: 09/21/2020] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Virus-like particles (VLPs) can be used as nano-carriers and antigen-display systems in vaccine development and therapeutic applications. Conjugation of peptides or whole proteins to VLPs can be achieved using different methods such as the SpyTag/SpyCatcher system. Here we investigate the conjugation of tandem Hepatitis B core (tHBcAg) VLPs and the model antigen GFP in vivo in Nicotiana benthamiana. We show that tHBcAg VLPs could be successfully conjugated with GFP in the cytosol and ER without altering VLP formation or GFP fluorescence. Conjugation in the cytosol was more efficient when SpyCatcher was displayed on tHBcAg VLPs instead of being fused to GFP. This effect was even more obvious in the ER, showing that it is optimal to display SpyCatcher on the tHBcAg VLPs and SpyTag on the binding partner. To test transferability of the GFP results to other antigens, we successfully conjugated tHBcAg VLPs to the HIV capsid protein P24 in the cytosol. This work presents an efficient strategy which can lead to time and cost saving post-translational, covalent conjugation of recombinant proteins in plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hadrien Peyret
- Department of Biological Chemistry, John Innes Centre, Norwich, NR4 7UH, UK.
| | - Daniel Ponndorf
- Department of Biological Chemistry, John Innes Centre, Norwich, NR4 7UH, UK
| | | | - Jake Richardson
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, John Innes Centre, Norwich, NR4 7UH, UK
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31
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Miura K, Yoshida H, Nosaki S, Kaneko MK, Kato Y. RAP Tag and PMab-2 Antibody: A Tagging System for Detecting and Purifying Proteins in Plant Cells. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2020; 11:510444. [PMID: 33013955 PMCID: PMC7511514 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2020.510444] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2019] [Accepted: 08/26/2020] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
An affinity tag system requires both high affinity and specificity. The RAP tag epitope DMVNPGLEDRIE, derived from rat podoplanin (PDPN), is specifically recognized by PMab-2 monoclonal antibodies in rats. Here, we demonstrated that high levels of PMab-2 can be produced in Nicotiana benthamiana and plant-derived PMab-2 possesses similar activity to CHO-derived PMab-2, and the RAP tag presents a useful tagging system for detecting and purifying proteins from plant cells. The heavy chain of PMab-2 fused with KDEL, an endoplasmic reticulum retention sequence, and the light chain of the antibody were introduced into N. benthamiana by agroinfiltration. The expression of PMab-2 peaked 4 days after agroinfiltration, and approximately 0.3 mg/g fresh weight of the antibody was accumulated. After purification, the plant-derived PMab-2 successfully recognized rat PDPN expressed in CHO-K1 cells and exhibited almost the same binding activity as CHO-derived PMab-2. The RAP-tagged proteins expressed in plant cells were specifically recognized by PMab-2. These results indicate that PMab-2 can accumulate at high levels in N. benthamiana and is easily purified and that the RAP tagging system presents a useful tool for detecting and purifying proteins of interest in plant cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kenji Miura
- Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan
- Tsukuba-Plant Innovation Research Center, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan
| | - Hideki Yoshida
- Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan
- Tsukuba-Plant Innovation Research Center, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan
| | - Shohei Nosaki
- Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan
- Tsukuba-Plant Innovation Research Center, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan
| | - Mika K. Kaneko
- Department of Antibody Drug Development, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan
| | - Yukinari Kato
- Department of Antibody Drug Development, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan
- New Industry Creation Hatchery Center, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
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32
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Shanmugaraj B, I. Bulaon CJ, Phoolcharoen W. Plant Molecular Farming: A Viable Platform for Recombinant Biopharmaceutical Production. PLANTS 2020; 9:plants9070842. [PMID: 32635427 PMCID: PMC7411908 DOI: 10.3390/plants9070842] [Citation(s) in RCA: 105] [Impact Index Per Article: 26.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2020] [Revised: 06/20/2020] [Accepted: 06/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
The demand for recombinant proteins in terms of quality, quantity, and diversity is increasing steadily, which is attracting global attention for the development of new recombinant protein production technologies and the engineering of conventional established expression systems based on bacteria or mammalian cell cultures. Since the advancements of plant genetic engineering in the 1980s, plants have been used for the production of economically valuable, biologically active non-native proteins or biopharmaceuticals, the concept termed as plant molecular farming (PMF). PMF is considered as a cost-effective technology that has grown and advanced tremendously over the past two decades. The development and improvement of the transient expression system has significantly reduced the protein production timeline and greatly improved the protein yield in plants. The major factors that drive the plant-based platform towards potential competitors for the conventional expression system are cost-effectiveness, scalability, flexibility, versatility, and robustness of the system. Many biopharmaceuticals including recombinant vaccine antigens, monoclonal antibodies, and other commercially viable proteins are produced in plants, some of which are in the pre-clinical and clinical pipeline. In this review, we consider the importance of a plant- based production system for recombinant protein production, and its potential to produce biopharmaceuticals is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Balamurugan Shanmugaraj
- Research Unit for Plant-Produced Pharmaceuticals, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand;
- Department of Pharmacognosy and Pharmaceutical Botany, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand;
| | - Christine Joy I. Bulaon
- Department of Pharmacognosy and Pharmaceutical Botany, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand;
| | - Waranyoo Phoolcharoen
- Research Unit for Plant-Produced Pharmaceuticals, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand;
- Department of Pharmacognosy and Pharmaceutical Botany, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand;
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +66-2-218-8359; Fax: +66-2-218-8357
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33
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Demchuk AM, Patel TR. The biomedical and bioengineering potential of protein nanocompartments. Biotechnol Adv 2020; 41:107547. [PMID: 32294494 DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2020.107547] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2019] [Revised: 03/21/2020] [Accepted: 04/03/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Protein nanocompartments (PNCs) are self-assembling biological nanocages that can be harnessed as platforms for a wide range of nanobiotechnology applications. The most widely studied examples of PNCs include virus-like particles, bacterial microcompartments, encapsulin nanocompartments, enzyme-derived nanocages (such as lumazine synthase and the E2 component of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex), ferritins and ferritin homologues, small heat shock proteins, and vault ribonucleoproteins. Structural PNC shell proteins are stable, biocompatible, and tolerant of both interior and exterior chemical or genetic functionalization for use as vaccines, therapeutic delivery vehicles, medical imaging aids, bioreactors, biological control agents, emulsion stabilizers, or scaffolds for biomimetic materials synthesis. This review provides an overview of the recent biomedical and bioengineering advances achieved with PNCs with a particular focus on recombinant PNC derivatives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aubrey M Demchuk
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, 4401 University Drive West, Lethbridge, AB, Canada.
| | - Trushar R Patel
- Alberta RNA Research and Training Institute, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Lethbridge, 4401 University Drive West, Lethbridge, AB, Canada; Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Cumming, School of Medicine, University of Calgary, 2500 University Dr. N.W., Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada; Li Ka Shing Institute of Virology and Discovery Lab, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta, 6-010 Katz Center for Health Research, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E1, Canada.
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34
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Sainsbury F. Innovation in plant-based transient protein expression for infectious disease prevention and preparedness. Curr Opin Biotechnol 2020; 61:110-115. [PMID: 31816585 PMCID: PMC7127347 DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2019.11.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2019] [Revised: 10/28/2019] [Accepted: 11/04/2019] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Addressing new challenges in global health and biosecurity requires responsive and accessible platforms for the manufacture of preventative or therapeutic interventions. Transient protein expression in plants has evolved into a technology that offers a unique combination of rapid expression, inherent scalability, and flexibility in gene stacking with the capability to produce complex proteins and protein assemblies. Technical developments that have driven the progress of transient expression in plants include advanced expression systems, protein engineering and synthetic biology approaches to transiently, or stably, modify host plants. The plasticity of transient expression in plants, speed of scalability and relatively low capital costs, highlight the great potential of this technology in the future of human and animal health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frank Sainsbury
- Centre for Cell Factories and Biopolymers, Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery, Griffith University, Nathan, QLD 4111, Australia; Synthetic Biology Future Science Platform, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Brisbane, QLD 4001, Australia.
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Diamos AG, Hunter JGL, Pardhe MD, Rosenthal SH, Sun H, Foster BC, DiPalma MP, Chen Q, Mason HS. High Level Production of Monoclonal Antibodies Using an Optimized Plant Expression System. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2020; 7:472. [PMID: 32010680 PMCID: PMC6978629 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2019.00472] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2019] [Accepted: 12/23/2019] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Biopharmaceuticals are a large and fast-growing sector of the total pharmaceutical market with antibody-based therapeutics accounting for over 100 billion USD in sales yearly. Mammalian cells are traditionally used for monoclonal antibody production, however plant-based expression systems have significant advantages. In this work, we showcase recent advances made in plant transient expression systems using optimized geminiviral vectors that can efficiently produce heteromultimeric proteins. Two, three, or four fluorescent proteins were coexpressed simultaneously, reaching high yields of 3–5 g/kg leaf fresh weight or ~50% total soluble protein. As a proof-of-concept for this system, various antibodies were produced using the optimized vectors with special focus given to the creation and production of a chimeric broadly neutralizing anti-flavivirus antibody. The variable regions of this murine antibody, 2A10G6, were codon optimized and fused to a human IgG1. Analysis of the chimeric antibody showed that it was efficiently expressed in plants at 1.5 g of antibody/kilogram of leaf tissue, can be purified to near homogeneity by a simple one-step purification process, retains its ability to recognize the Zika virus envelope protein, and potently neutralizes Zika virus. Two other monoclonal antibodies were produced at similar levels (1.2–1.4 g/kg). This technology will be a versatile tool for the production of a wide spectrum of pharmaceutical multi-protein complexes in a fast, powerful, and cost-effective way.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew G Diamos
- Center for Immunotherapy, Vaccines and Virotherapy, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States.,School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States
| | - Joseph G L Hunter
- Center for Immunotherapy, Vaccines and Virotherapy, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States.,School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States
| | - Mary D Pardhe
- Center for Immunotherapy, Vaccines and Virotherapy, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States.,School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States
| | - Sun H Rosenthal
- Center for Immunotherapy, Vaccines and Virotherapy, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States.,School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States
| | - Haiyan Sun
- Center for Immunotherapy, Vaccines and Virotherapy, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States.,School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States
| | - Bonnie C Foster
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States
| | - Michelle P DiPalma
- Center for Immunotherapy, Vaccines and Virotherapy, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States.,School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States
| | - Qiang Chen
- Center for Immunotherapy, Vaccines and Virotherapy, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States.,School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States
| | - Hugh S Mason
- Center for Immunotherapy, Vaccines and Virotherapy, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States.,School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States
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Teffera M, Babiuk S. Potential of Using Capripoxvirus Vectored Vaccines Against Arboviruses in Sheep, Goats, and Cattle. Front Vet Sci 2019; 6:450. [PMID: 31921911 PMCID: PMC6932975 DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2019.00450] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2019] [Accepted: 11/27/2019] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
The genus capripoxvirus consists of sheeppox virus, goatpox virus, and lumpy skin disease virus, which affect sheep, goats, and cattle, respectively. Together capripoxviruses cause significant economic losses to the sheep, goat, and cattle industry where these diseases are present. These diseases have spread into previously free bordering regions most recently demonstrated with the spread of lumpy skin disease virus into the Middle East, some Eastern European countries, and Russia. This recent spread has highlighted the transboundary nature of these diseases. To control lumpy skin disease virus, live attenuated viral vaccines are used in endemic countries as well as in response to an outbreak. For sheeppox and goatpox, live attenuated viral vaccines are used in endemic countries; these diseases can also be contained through slaughter of infected animals to stamp out the disease. The thermostability, narrow host range, and ability of capripoxviruses to express a wide variety of antigens make capripoxviruses ideal vectors. The ability to immunize animals against multiple diseases simultaneously increases vaccination efficiency by decreasing the number of vaccinations required. Additionally, the use of capripoxvirus vectored vaccines allows the possibility of differentiating infected from vaccinated animals. Arboviruses such as bluetongue virus and Rift Valley fever viruses are also responsible for significant economic losses in endemic countries. In the case of Rift Valley fever virus, vaccination is not routinely practiced unless there is an outbreak making vaccination not as effective, therefore, incorporating Rift Valley fever vaccination into routine capripoxvirus vaccination would be highly beneficial. This review will discuss the potential of using capripoxvirus as a vector expressing protective arboviral antigens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahder Teffera
- Canadian Food Inspection Agency, National Centre for Foreign Animal Disease, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
- Department of Immunology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
| | - Shawn Babiuk
- Canadian Food Inspection Agency, National Centre for Foreign Animal Disease, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
- Department of Immunology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
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Rutkowska DA, Mokoena NB, Tsekoa TL, Dibakwane VS, O’Kennedy MM. Plant-produced chimeric virus-like particles - a new generation vaccine against African horse sickness. BMC Vet Res 2019; 15:432. [PMID: 31796116 PMCID: PMC6892175 DOI: 10.1186/s12917-019-2184-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2019] [Accepted: 11/20/2019] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND African horse sickness (AHS) is a severe arthropod-borne viral disease of equids, with a mortality rate of up to 95% in susceptible naïve horses. Due to safety concerns with the current live, attenuated AHS vaccine, alternate safe and effective vaccination strategies such as virus-like particles (VLPs) are being investigated. Transient plant-based expression systems are a rapid and highly scalable means of producing such African horse sickness virus (AHSV) VLPs for vaccine purposes. RESULTS In this study, we demonstrated that transient co-expression of the four AHSV capsid proteins in agroinfiltrated Nicotiana benthamiana dXT/FT plants not only allowed for the assembly of homogenous AHSV-1 VLPs but also single, double and triple chimeric VLPs, where one capsid protein originated from one AHS serotype and at least one other capsid protein originated from another AHS serotype. Following optimisation of a large scale VLP purification procedure, the safety and immunogenicity of the plant-produced, triple chimeric AHSV-6 VLPs was confirmed in horses, the target species. CONCLUSIONS We have successfully shown assembly of single and double chimeric AHSV-7 VLPs, as well as triple chimeric AHSV-6 VLPs, in Nicotiana benthamiana dXT/FT plants. Plant produced chimeric AHSV-6 VLPs were found to be safe for administration into 6 month old foals as well as capable of eliciting a weak neutralizing humoral immune response in these target animals against homologous AHSV virus.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Nobalanda B. Mokoena
- Onderstepoort Biological Products SOC Ltd, Private Bag X07, Onderstepoort, 0110 South Africa
| | | | - Vusi S. Dibakwane
- Onderstepoort Biological Products SOC Ltd, Private Bag X07, Onderstepoort, 0110 South Africa
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Tsekoa TL, Singh AA, Buthelezi SG. Molecular farming for therapies and vaccines in Africa. Curr Opin Biotechnol 2019; 61:89-95. [PMID: 31786432 DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2019.11.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2019] [Revised: 10/30/2019] [Accepted: 11/04/2019] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Local manufacturing of protein-based vaccines and therapies in Africa is limited and contributes to a trade deficit, security of supply concerns and poor access to biopharmaceuticals by the poor. Plant molecular farming is a potential technology solution that has received growing adoption by African scientists attracted by the potential for the competitive cost of goods, safety and efficacy. Plant-made pharmaceutical technologies for veterinary and human vaccination and treatment of non-communicable and infectious diseases are available at different stages of development in Africa. There is also growth in the translation of these technologies to commercial operations. Africa is poised to benefit from the real-world impact of molecular farming in the next few years.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tsepo L Tsekoa
- NextGen Health and Future Production: Chemistry Clusters, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Pretoria, South Africa.
| | - Advaita Acarya Singh
- NextGen Health and Future Production: Chemistry Clusters, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Sindisiwe G Buthelezi
- NextGen Health and Future Production: Chemistry Clusters, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Pretoria, South Africa
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39
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van Rijn PA. Prospects of Next-Generation Vaccines for Bluetongue. Front Vet Sci 2019; 6:407. [PMID: 31824966 PMCID: PMC6881303 DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2019.00407] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2019] [Accepted: 11/01/2019] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Bluetongue (BT) is a haemorrhagic disease of wild and domestic ruminants with a huge economic worldwide impact on livestock. The disease is caused by BT-virus transmitted by Culicoides biting midges and disease control without vaccination is hardly possible. Vaccination is the most feasible and cost-effective way to minimize economic losses. Marketed BT vaccines are successfully used in different parts of the world. Inactivated BT vaccines are efficacious and safe but relatively expensive, whereas live-attenuated vaccines are efficacious and cheap but are unsafe because of under-attenuation, onward spread, reversion to virulence, and reassortment events. Both manufactured BT vaccines do not enable differentiating infected from vaccinated animals (DIVA) and protection is limited to the respective serotype. The ideal BT vaccine is a licensed, affordable, completely safe DIVA vaccine, that induces quick, lifelong, broad protection in all susceptible ruminant species. Promising vaccine candidates show improvement for one or more of these main vaccine standards. BTV protein vaccines and viral vector vaccines have DIVA potential depending on the selected BTV antigens, but are less effective and likely more costly per protected animal than current vaccines. Several vaccine platforms based on replicating BTV are applied for many serotypes by exchange of serotype dominant outer shell proteins. These platforms based on one BTV backbone result in attenuation or abortive virus replication and prevent disease by and spread of vaccine virus as well as reversion to virulence. These replicating BT vaccines induce humoral and T-cell mediated immune responses to all viral proteins except to one, which could enable DIVA tests. Most of these replicating vaccines can be produced similarly as currently marketed BT vaccines. All replicating vaccine platforms developed by reverse genetics are classified as genetic modified organisms. This implies extensive and expensive safety trails in target ruminant species, and acceptance by the community could be hindered. Nonetheless, several experimental BT vaccines show very promising improvements and could compete with marketed vaccines regarding their vaccine profile, but none of these next generation BT vaccines have been licensed yet.
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Affiliation(s)
- Piet A van Rijn
- Department of Virology, Wageningen Bioveterinary Research, Lelystad, Netherlands.,Department of Biochemistry, Centre for Human Metabolomics, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
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Dennis SJ, Meyers AE, Hitzeroth II, Rybicki EP. African Horse Sickness: A Review of Current Understanding and Vaccine Development. Viruses 2019; 11:E844. [PMID: 31514299 PMCID: PMC6783979 DOI: 10.3390/v11090844] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2019] [Revised: 08/30/2019] [Accepted: 09/04/2019] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
African horse sickness is a devastating disease that causes great suffering and many fatalities amongst horses in sub-Saharan Africa. It is caused by nine different serotypes of the orbivirus African horse sickness virus (AHSV) and it is spread by Culicoid midges. The disease has significant economic consequences for the equine industry both in southern Africa and increasingly further afield as the geographic distribution of the midge vector broadens with global warming and climate change. Live attenuated vaccines (LAV) have been used with relative success for many decades but carry the risk of reversion to virulence and/or genetic re-assortment between outbreak and vaccine strains. Furthermore, the vaccines lack DIVA capacity, the ability to distinguish between vaccine-induced immunity and that induced by natural infection. These concerns have motivated interest in the development of new, more favourable recombinant vaccines that utilize viral vectors or are based on reverse genetics or virus-like particle technologies. This review summarizes the current understanding of AHSV structure and the viral replication cycle and also evaluates existing and potential vaccine strategies that may be applied to prevent or control the disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susan J Dennis
- Biopharming Research Unit, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, Cape Town, South Africa.
| | - Ann E Meyers
- Biopharming Research Unit, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, Cape Town, South Africa.
| | - Inga I Hitzeroth
- Biopharming Research Unit, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, Cape Town, South Africa.
| | - Edward P Rybicki
- Biopharming Research Unit, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, Cape Town, South Africa.
- Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Observatory 7925, Cape Town, South Africa.
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Rybicki EP. Plant molecular farming of virus‐like nanoparticles as vaccines and reagents. WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS-NANOMEDICINE AND NANOBIOTECHNOLOGY 2019; 12:e1587. [DOI: 10.1002/wnan.1587] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2019] [Revised: 07/23/2019] [Accepted: 07/31/2019] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Edward P. Rybicki
- Biopharming Research Unit, Department of Molecular & Cell Biology University of Cape Town Cape Town South Africa
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42
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Fay PC, Attoui H, Batten C, Mohd Jaafar F, Lomonossoff GP, Daly JM, Mertens PP. Bluetongue virus outer-capsid protein VP2 expressed in Nicotiana benthamiana raises neutralising antibodies and a protective immune response in IFNAR -/- mice. Vaccine X 2019; 2:100026. [PMID: 31384743 PMCID: PMC6668234 DOI: 10.1016/j.jvacx.2019.100026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2019] [Revised: 04/30/2019] [Accepted: 05/03/2019] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Bluetongue is a severe, economically important disease of ruminants that is widely distributed in tropical and temperate regions around the world. It is associated with major production losses, restrictions of animal movements and trade, as well as costs associated with developing and implementing effective surveillance and control measures. Mammalian hosts infected with bluetongue virus (BTV) generate a protective neutralising antibody response targeting the major BTV outer-capsid protein and serotype-specific antigen, VP2. BTV VP2 proteins that have been expressed in plants are soluble, with a native conformation displaying neutralising epitopes and can assemble with other BTV structural proteins to form virus-like particles (VLPs). His-tagged VP2 proteins of BTV serotypes 4 and 8 were transiently expressed in Nicotiana benthamiana then purified by immobilised metal affinity chromatography (IMAC). Antisera from IFNAR -/- mice prime/boost vaccinated with the purified proteins, were shown to contain VP2-specific antibodies by Indirect ELISA (I-ELISA), western blotting and serum neutralisation tests (SNT). Vaccinated mice, subsequently challenged with either the homologous or heterologous BTV serotype, developed viraemia by day 3 post-infection. However, no clinical signs were observed in mice challenged with the homologous serotype (either prime-boost or single-shot vaccinated), all of which survived for the duration of the study. In contrast, all of the vaccinated mice challenged with a heterologous serotype, died, showing no evidence of cross-protection or suppression of viraemia, as detected by real-time RT-qPCR or virus isolation. The induction of protective, serotype-specific neutralising antibodies in IFNAR -/- mice, indicates potential for the use of plant-expressed BTV VP2s as subunit vaccine components, or as a basis for serotype-specific serological assays.
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Affiliation(s)
- Petra C. Fay
- The Pirbright Institute, Ash Road, Pirbright, Surrey GU24 0NF, UK
- School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Leicestershire LE12 5RD, UK
| | - Houssam Attoui
- UMR VIROLOGIE 1161, INRA, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d’Alfort, ANSES, Université Paris-Est, Maisons-Alfort F-94700, France
| | - Carrie Batten
- The Pirbright Institute, Ash Road, Pirbright, Surrey GU24 0NF, UK
| | - Fauziah Mohd Jaafar
- UMR VIROLOGIE 1161, INRA, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d’Alfort, ANSES, Université Paris-Est, Maisons-Alfort F-94700, France
| | | | - Janet M. Daly
- School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Leicestershire LE12 5RD, UK
| | - Peter P.C. Mertens
- The Pirbright Institute, Ash Road, Pirbright, Surrey GU24 0NF, UK
- School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Leicestershire LE12 5RD, UK
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Marsian J, Hurdiss DL, Ranson NA, Ritala A, Paley R, Cano I, Lomonossoff GP. Plant-Made Nervous Necrosis Virus-Like Particles Protect Fish Against Disease. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2019; 10:880. [PMID: 31354759 PMCID: PMC6629939 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2019.00880] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2019] [Accepted: 06/20/2019] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Virus-like particles (VLPs) of the fish virus, Atlantic Cod Nervous necrosis virus (ACNNV), were successfully produced by transient expression of the coat protein in Nicotiana benthamiana plants. VLPs could also be produced in transgenic tobacco BY-2 cells. The protein extracted from plants self-assembled into T = 3 particles, that appeared to be morphologically similar to previously analyzed NNV VLPs when analyzed by high resolution cryo-electron microscopy. Administration of the plant-produced VLPs to sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) showed that they could protect the fish against subsequent virus challenge, indicating that plant-produced vaccines may have a substantial future role in aquaculture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johanna Marsian
- John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Daniel L. Hurdiss
- Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, School of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom
| | - Neil A. Ranson
- Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, School of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom
| | - Anneli Ritala
- VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Espoo, Finland
| | - Richard Paley
- Centre for Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), Weymouth Laboratory, Weymouth, United Kingdom
| | - Irene Cano
- Centre for Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), Weymouth Laboratory, Weymouth, United Kingdom
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Kotta-Loizou I, Peyret H, Saunders K, Coutts RHA, Lomonossoff GP. Investigating the Biological Relevance of In Vitro-Identified Putative Packaging Signals at the 5' Terminus of Satellite Tobacco Necrosis Virus 1 Genomic RNA. J Virol 2019; 93:e02106-18. [PMID: 30814279 PMCID: PMC6475782 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.02106-18] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2018] [Accepted: 02/06/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Satellite tobacco necrosis virus 1 (STNV-1) is a model system for in vitro RNA encapsidation studies (N. Patel, E. C. Dykeman, R. H. A. Coutts, G. P. Lomonossoff, et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 112:2227-2232, 2015, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1420812112; N. Patel, E. Wroblewski, G. Leonov, S. E. V. Phillips, et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 114:12255-12260, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1706951114), leading to the identification of degenerate packaging signals (PSs) proposed to be involved in the recognition of its genome by the capsid protein (CP). The aim of the present work was to investigate whether these putative PSs can confer selective packaging of STNV-1 RNA in vivo and to assess the prospects of using decoy RNAs in antiviral therapy. We have developed an in planta packaging assay based on the transient expression of STNV-1 CP and have assessed the ability of the resulting virus-like particles (VLPs) to encapsidate mutant STNV-1 RNAs expected to have different encapsidation potential based on in vitro studies. The results revealed that >90% of the encapsidated RNAs are host derived, although there is some selectivity of packaging for STNV-1 RNA and certain host RNAs. Comparison of the packaging efficiencies of mutant STNV-1 RNAs showed that they are encapsidated mainly according to their abundance within the cells, rather than the presence or absence of the putative PSs previously identified from in vitro studies. In contrast, subsequent infection experiments demonstrated that host RNAs represent only <1% of virion content. Although selective encapsidation of certain host RNAs was noted, no direct correlation could be made between this preference and the presence of potential PSs in the host RNA sequences. Overall, the data illustrate that the differences in RNA packaging efficiency identified through in vitro studies are insufficient to explain the specific packaging of STNV-1 RNA.IMPORTANCE Viruses preferentially encapsidate their own genomic RNA, sometimes as a result of the presence of clearly defined packaging signals (PSs) in their genome sequence. Recently, a novel form of short degenerate PSs has been proposed (N. Patel, E. C. Dykeman, R. H. A. Coutts, G. P. Lomonossoff, et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 112:2227-2232, 2015, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1420812112; N. Patel, E. Wroblewski, G. Leonov, S. E. V. Phillips, et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 114:12255-12260, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1706951114) using satellite tobacco necrosis virus 1 (STNV-1) as a model system for in vitro studies. It has been suggested that competing with these putative PSs may constitute a novel therapeutic approach against pathogenic single-stranded RNA viruses. Our work demonstrates that the previously identified PSs have no discernible significance for the selective packaging of STNV-1 in vivo in the presence and absence of competition or replication: viral sequences are encapsidated mostly on the basis of their abundance within the cell, while encapsidation of host RNAs also occurs. Nevertheless, the putative PSs identified in STNV-1 RNA may still have applications in bionanotechnology, such as the in vitro selective packaging of RNA molecules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ioly Kotta-Loizou
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Hadrien Peyret
- Department of Biological Chemistry, John Innes Centre, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Keith Saunders
- Department of Biological Chemistry, John Innes Centre, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Robert H A Coutts
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, United Kingdom
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Kopertekh L, Schiemann J. Transient Production of Recombinant Pharmaceutical Proteins in Plants: Evolution and Perspectives. Curr Med Chem 2019; 26:365-380. [DOI: 10.2174/0929867324666170718114724] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2017] [Revised: 06/07/2017] [Accepted: 06/07/2017] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
During the last two decades, the production of pharmaceutical proteins in plants
evolved from proof of concept to established technology adopted by several biotechnological
companies. This progress is particularly based on intensive research starting stable genetic
transformation and moving to transient expression. Due to its advantages in yield and
speed of protein production transient expression platforms became the leading plant-based
manufacturing technology. Current transient expression methods rely on Agrobacteriummediated
delivery of expression vectors into plant cells. In recent years, great advances have
been made in the improvement of expression vectors, host cell engineering as well as in the
development of commercial manufacturing processes. Several GMP-certified large-scale
production facilities exist around the world to utilize agroinfiltration method. A number of
pharmaceutical proteins produced by transient expression are currently in clinical development.
The great potential of transient expression platform in respect to rapid response to
emerging pandemics was demonstrated by the production of experimental ZMapp antibodies
against Ebola virus as well as influenza vaccines. This review is focused on current design,
status and future perspectives of plant transient expression system for the production
of biopharmaceutical proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lilya Kopertekh
- Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants, Institute for Biosafety in Plant Biotechnology, Erwin-Baur- Str. 27, D-06484, Quedlinburg, Germany
| | - Joachim Schiemann
- Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants, Institute for Biosafety in Plant Biotechnology, Erwin-Baur- Str. 27, D-06484, Quedlinburg, Germany
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Berardi A, Baldelli Bombelli F, Thuenemann EC, Lomonossoff GP. Viral nanoparticles can elude protein barriers: exploiting rather than imitating nature. NANOSCALE 2019; 11:2306-2316. [PMID: 30662985 DOI: 10.1039/c8nr09067j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
Protein-corona formation in body fluids and/or entrapment of nanoparticles in protein matrices (e.g. food and mucus) can hinder the delivery of nanoparticles, irrespective of the route of administration. Here we demonstrate that certain viral nanoparticles (VNPs) can evade the adhesion of a broad panel of macromolecules from several biological milieus. We also show that the permeability of VNPs through mucin gels is far superior to that of synthetic nanoparticles. The non-sticky nature of VNPs implies that they will be able to readily cross most non-specific protein and glycoprotein barriers encountered, ubiquitously, upon administration through mucosal, and non-mucosal routes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alberto Berardi
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Applied Science Private University, Amman 11931, Jordan.
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Peyret H, Brown JKM, Lomonossoff GP. Improving plant transient expression through the rational design of synthetic 5' and 3' untranslated regions. PLANT METHODS 2019; 15:108. [PMID: 31548848 PMCID: PMC6749642 DOI: 10.1186/s13007-019-0494-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2019] [Accepted: 09/09/2019] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The growing field of plant molecular farming relies on expression vectors that allow high yields of recombinant proteins to be produced through transient gene expression. While numerous expression vectors currently exist for this purpose, there are very few examples of systematic efforts to improve upon these. Moreover, the current generation of expression systems makes use of naturally-occurring regulatory elements, typically selected from plant viruses, to maximise yields. This study aims to use rational design to generate synthetic sequences that can rival existing ones. RESULTS In this work, we present the rational design of novel synthetic 5' and 3' untranslated regions (UTRs) which can be used in various combinations to modulate accumulation levels of transiently-expressed recombinant proteins. Using the pEAQ-HT expression vector as a point of comparison, we show that pre-existing expression systems can be improved by the deployment of rationally designed synthetic UTRs. Notably, we show that a suite of short, synthetic 5'UTRs behave as expression enhancers that outperform the HT 5'UTR present in the CPMV-HT expression system. Furthermore, we confirm the critical role played by the 3'UTR of cowpea mosaic virus RNA-2 in the performance of the CPMV-HT system. Finally, we use the knowledge obtained from these results to develop novel expression vectors (named pHRE and pHREAC) that equal or outperform pEAQ-HT in terms of recombinant protein yield. These new vectors are also domesticated for the use of certain Type IIS restriction enzymes, which allows for quicker cloning and straightforward assessment of different combinations of UTRs. CONCLUSIONS We have shown that it is possible to rationally design a suite of expression modulators in the form of synthetic UTRs. We have created novel expression vectors that allow very high levels of recombinant protein expression in a transient expression context. This will have important consequences for future efforts to develop ever-better plant transient overexpression vectors for research or industrial applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hadrien Peyret
- Department of Biological Chemistry, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, NR4 7UH UK
| | - James K. M. Brown
- Department of Crop Genetics, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, NR4 7UH UK
| | - George P. Lomonossoff
- Department of Biological Chemistry, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, NR4 7UH UK
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Diamos AG, Mason HS. High-level expression and enrichment of norovirus virus-like particles in plants using modified geminiviral vectors. Protein Expr Purif 2018; 151:86-92. [PMID: 29908914 DOI: 10.1016/j.pep.2018.06.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2018] [Revised: 04/08/2018] [Accepted: 06/13/2018] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Recombinant virus-like particles (VLPs) are proven to be safe and effective vaccine candidates. We have previously described a plant-based recombinant protein expression system based on agroinfiltration of a replicating vector derived from the geminivirus bean yellow dwarf virus (BeYDV). The system has been systematically optimized to improve expression and reduce cell death in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves. Using these modifications, we show that VLPs derived from genotype GII.4 norovirus, the leading cause of acute gastroenteritis worldwide, can be produced at >1 mg/g leaf fresh weight (LFW), over three times the highest level ever reported in plant-based systems. We also produced norovirus GI VLPs at 2.3 mg/g LFW. Treatment of VLP-containing crude leaf extracts with acid, detergent, or heat enhanced recovery and allowed selective enrichment of norovirus VLPs. Optimal treatment conditions allowed removal of >90% of endogenous plant proteins without any loss of norovirus VLPs. Selective enrichment of hepatitis B core antigen (HBcAg) VLPs by acid treatment was also demonstrated, with some losses in yield that were partially mitigated in the presence of detergent. Sedimentation analysis confirmed that acid and detergent did not inhibit proper assembly of norovirus VLPs, although heat treatment had a small negative effect. These results demonstrate that milligram quantities of norovirus VLPs can be obtained and highly enriched in a matter of days from a single plant leaf using the BeYDV plant expression system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew G Diamos
- Center for Immunotherapy, Vaccines & Virotherapy, Biodesign Institute at ASU and School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA
| | - Hugh S Mason
- Center for Immunotherapy, Vaccines & Virotherapy, Biodesign Institute at ASU and School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA.
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Reed J, Osbourn A. Engineering terpenoid production through transient expression in Nicotiana benthamiana. PLANT CELL REPORTS 2018; 37:1431-1441. [PMID: 29786761 PMCID: PMC6153650 DOI: 10.1007/s00299-018-2296-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2018] [Accepted: 05/12/2018] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Terpenoids are the most structurally diverse class of plant natural products with a huge range of commercial and medical applications. Exploiting this enormous potential has historically been hindered due to low levels of these compounds in their natural sources, making isolation difficult, while their structural complexity frequently makes synthetic chemistry approaches uneconomical. Engineering terpenoid biosynthesis in heterologous host production platforms provides a means to overcome these obstacles. In particular, plant-based production systems are attractive as they provide the compartmentalisation and cofactors necessary for the transfer of functional pathways from other plants. Nicotiana benthamiana, a wild relative of tobacco, has become increasingly popular as a heterologous expression platform for reconstituting plant natural product pathways, because it is amenable to Agrobacterium-mediated transient expression, a scalable and highly flexible process that enables rapid expression of genes and enzymes from other plant species. Here, we review recent work describing terpene production in N. benthamiana. We examine various strategies taken to engineer this host for increased production of the target metabolite. We also look at how transient expression can be utilised for rapid generation of molecular diversity, including new-to-nature products. Finally, we highlight current issues surrounding this expression platform and discuss the future directions and developments which will be needed to fully realise the potential of this system.
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Affiliation(s)
- James Reed
- Department of Metabolic Biology, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, NR4 7UH, UK
| | - Anne Osbourn
- Department of Metabolic Biology, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, NR4 7UH, UK.
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MacDonald J. History and Promise of Plant-Made Vaccines for Animals. PROSPECTS OF PLANT-BASED VACCINES IN VETERINARY MEDICINE 2018. [PMCID: PMC7122757 DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-90137-4_1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
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