McFall-Boegeman H, Huang X. Mechanisms of cellular and humoral immunity through the lens of VLP-based vaccines.
Expert Rev Vaccines 2022;
21:453-469. [PMID:
35023430 PMCID:
PMC8960355 DOI:
10.1080/14760584.2022.2029415]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION
Vaccination can be effective defense against many infectious agents and the corresponding diseases. Discoveries elucidating the mechanisms of the immune system have given hopes to developing vaccines against diseases recalcitrant to current treatment/prevention strategies. One such finding is the ability of immunogenic biological nanoparticles to powerfully boost the immunogenicity of poorer antigens conjugated to them with virus-like particle (VLP)-based vaccines as a key example. VLPs take advantage of the well-defined molecular structures associated with sub-unit vaccines and the immunostimulatory nature of conjugate vaccines.
AREAS COVERED
In this review, we will discuss how advances in understanding the immune system can inform VLP-based vaccine design and how VLP-based vaccines have uncovered underlying mechanisms in the immune system.
EXPERT OPINION
As our understanding of mechanisms underlying the immune system increases, that knowledge should inform our vaccine design. Testing of proof-of-concept vaccines in the lab should seek to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of immune responses. The integration of these approaches will allow for VLP-based vaccines to live up to their promise as a powerful plug-and-play platform for next generation vaccine development.
Collapse