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Updated: May 18, 2026

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Expression and Purification of Virus-like Particles for Vaccination
Published on: June 2, 2016
Plant-derived virus-like particles as vaccines
1Center for Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ USA. Qiang.Chen.4@asu.edu
Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics
|September 22, 2012
Summary
Plants offer a fast, cost-effective method for producing virus-like particles (VLPs) vaccines. This review highlights plant expression systems for VLP vaccine development, showcasing their potential for rapid, economical vaccine production.
Area of Science:
- Biotechnology
- Vaccinology
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Virus-like particles (VLPs) are safe, immunogenic vaccine platforms mimicking viral structures without genetic material.
- VLPs are effective carriers for foreign epitopes, leading to successful licensed vaccines.
- Current VLP production faces challenges in speed and cost.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the role of plants as a novel, rapid, and economical production platform for VLP-based vaccines.
- To discuss the advantages of plant expression systems for VLP production.
- To present recent advancements and future prospects of plant-derived VLP vaccines.
Main Methods:
- Review of scientific literature on plant-based VLP production.
- Analysis of VLP expression, assembly, and immunogenicity in plant systems.
- Examination of clinical trial data and regulatory approvals for plant-derived biologics.
Main Results:
- Plant expression systems offer advantages in post-translational modifications, cost-effectiveness, speed, and scalability for VLP production.
- Successful expression and assembly of VLPs and chimeric derivatives in plants have been demonstrated.
- Clinical trials confirm the safety and efficacy of plant-derived VLPs, with recent FDA approval for plant-made biologics.
Conclusions:
- Plants represent a promising platform for the efficient and economical production of VLP-based vaccines.
- Advancements in "humanized" glycosylation plant lines enhance VLP vaccine potential.
- The synergy of plant expression systems and VLP technology is poised to drive future vaccine development and novel VLP applications.
Keywords:
Plant-derived vaccinecGMPchimeric VLPclinical trialdownstream processingglycosylationoral deliveryplant-derived VLPpurificationvaccinevaccine platformsvirus-like particle (VLP)More Related Videos
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