Production of Recombinant Human Papillomavirus Type 52 L1 Protein in Hansenula polymorpha Formed Virus-Like Particles

Human papillomavirus (HPV) type 52 is a high-risk HPV responsible for cervical cancer. HPV type 52 is common around the world and is the most common in some Asian regions. The available prophylactic HPV vaccines protect only from HPV types 16 and 18. Supplementing economical vaccines that target HPV type 52 may satisfactorily complement available prophylactic vaccines. A codon-adapted HPV 52 L1 gene was expressed in the methylotrophic yeast Hansenula polymorpha, which is used as an industrial platform for economical hepatitis B surface antigen particle production in China. We found that the recombinant proteins produced in this expression system could form virus-like particles (VLPs) with diameters of approximately 50 nm. This study suggests that the HPV 52 VLPs produced in this platform may satisfactorily complement available prophylactic vaccines in fighting against HPVs prevalent in Asia.