Design of Novel Vaccines Based on Virus-Like Particles

Virus-like particles (VLPs) are formed by viral proteins that, when overexpressed, spontaneously self-assemble into particles that structurally are similar to infectious virus or subviral particles (e.g. the viral capsid). VLPs are appealing as vaccine candidates because their inherent properties (i.e. virus-sized, multimeric antigens, highly organised and repetitive structure, not infectious) are suitable for the induction of safe and efficient humoral and cellular immune responses. VLP-based vaccines have already been licensed for human and veterinary use, and many more vaccine candidates are currently in late stages of evaluation. Moreover, the development of VLPs as platforms for foreign antigen display has further broadened their potential applicability both as prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines. This chapter provides an overview on the design and use of VLPs for the development of new-generation vaccines.