Plant-Produced Chimeric Hepatitis E Virus-like Particles as Carriers for Antigen Presentation

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology
• Virology
• Plant molecular biology

Background:

• Virus-like particles (VLPs) are crucial carriers for displaying antigens in vaccine development.
• The hepatitis E virus (HEV) coat protein is known to form VLPs.
• Plant-based expression systems offer a scalable platform for producing recombinant proteins.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the potential of plant-produced HEV coat protein as a VLP carrier for displaying foreign antigens.
• To evaluate the feasibility of using HEV VLPs to present large antigens, such as green fluorescent protein (GFP) and influenza A virus M2e (4M2e).
• To explore the application of plant-derived HEV VLPs in the development of recombinant vaccines, particularly against influenza.

Main Methods:

• Recombinant fusion proteins were designed, combining truncated HEV coat protein with GFP or 4M2e.
• These fusion proteins were expressed in *Nicotiana benthamiana* plants using a self-replicating potato virus X-based vector.
• The formation and display of VLPs containing the inserted antigens were analyzed.

Main Results:

• Efficient expression of recombinant fusion proteins comprising HEV coat protein with GFP or 4M2e was achieved in plants.
• The plant-produced fusion proteins self-assembled into VLPs that successfully displayed the GFP and 4M2e antigens.
• This demonstrates the capability of HEV VLPs to present relatively large foreign antigens.

Conclusions:

• The truncated HEV coat protein serves as a versatile VLP platform for presenting large antigens.
• Plant-based production of HEV VLPs displaying foreign antigens is feasible and efficient.
• Plant-produced HEV VLPs represent a promising tool for developing novel recombinant vaccines, including those against influenza.