A virus-like particle vaccine protects mice against coxsackievirus A10 lethal infection

Coxsackievirus A10 (CVA10) has emerged worldwide as one of the main pathogens of hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) in recent years. However, there is currently no commercial vaccine available to prevent CVA10 infection. Here we report the development of a recombinant virus-like particle (VLP) based candidate vaccine for CVA10. Co-expression of the capsid protein precursor P1 and the protease 3CD of CVA10 in Pichia pastoris resulted in cleavage of P1 into three capsid subunit proteins VP0, VP1, and VP3. These three subunit proteins co-assembled into CVA10 VLPs, which were visualized as spherical particles with a diameter of ∼30 nm under electron microscope. Immunization studies showed that CVA10 VLP could efficiently induce antigen-specific serum antibodies in mice. The anti-VLP sera were able to potently neutralize homologous and heterologous CVA10 strains. Importantly, passively transferred anti-VLP sera fully protected recipient neonatal mice from lethal CVA10 infection. In addition, neonatal mice born to the VLP-immunized dams were also completely protected from CVA10 lethal challenge. Collectively, these data show that CVA10 VLP represents a promising CVA10 vaccine candidate.