Particle-based Vaccine Antigen Delivery

Several plant vims coat proteins, including those of TMV, CPMV, AlMV and Tomato bushy stunt vims (TBSV), have been used to produce and deliver antigenic determinants from a variety of viral and bacterial pathogens. These data have been summarized in numerous publications and several reviews [12,13]. The ease of virus purification coupled with enhanced peptide immunogenicity when fused to carrier molecules makes this approach very attractive for vaccine development. 

CPMV particles that contained a 17-mer neutralizing epitope, 3L17, from the VP2 capsid of Mink enteritis vims (MEV) fused to the S protein were generated. When mixed with adjuvant, these particles protected all the test animals from clinical disease when challenged with vimlent MEV. A modified constmct, which presented the 

In another study, CPMV particles that displayed a peptide derived from the epidermal growth factor receptor variant III (EGFRvIII) elicited specific antibody responses in mice against the peptide and protected mice from tumor challenge [45]. 

Chimeric TMV particles containing the 5B19 epitope from the spike protein of murine hepatitis virus (MHV) fused near the C-terminus of TMV coat protein subunits were used to immunize mice intranasally (three doses per week for ten weeks) [46]. High IgG titers and moderate IgA titers specific to the peptide could be de- 

The sera of mice fed with fresh spinach leaves infected with AlMV particles presenting a rabies virus epitope contained IgG and IgA. Mucosal IgA was also detected [48]. Human volunteers (in FDA approved trials) fed with spinach containing recombinant particles generated both IgG and IgA responses specific to the pathogen [49]. The trials also suggested that plant virus particle-based vaccines could be effectively used in prime-boost regimens. In more recent work, recombinant AlMV particles containing an epitope from the G protein of human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) induced protective immunity in mice [33]. 

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