Journal
VACCINES
Volume 10, Issue 10, Pages -Publisher
MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/vaccines10101667
Keywords
VLP; tick-borne encephalitis virus; plant; tobacco; mice; flavivirus; vaccine; toxicity; protein expression; immunization
Categories
Funding
- INTERREG-OKS Project ScandTick Innovation [20200422]
- Knowledge Foundation [20190091, 20200063]
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Flaviviruses pose a threat to public health, with tick-borne encephalitis being one of the major diseases caused by this virus. There is currently no antiviral treatment available, making vaccination the best preventive measure. A study aimed to develop an edible vaccine for tick-borne encephalitis, which would trigger a stronger immune response through oral delivery of viral antigens. However, the edible vaccine candidate did not provide immunity in mice during the challenge with the virus.
Flaviviruses are a threat to public health and can cause major disease outbreaks. Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is caused by a flavivirus, and it is one of the most important causes of viral encephalitis in Europe and is on the rise in Sweden. As there is no antiviral treatment available, vaccination remains the best protective measure against TBE. Currently available TBE vaccines are based on formalin-inactivated virus produced in cell culture. These vaccines must be delivered by intramuscular injection, have a burdensome immunization schedule, and may exhibit vaccine failure in certain populations. This project aimed to develop an edible TBE vaccine to trigger a stronger immune response through oral delivery of viral antigens to mucosal surfaces. We demonstrated successful expression and post-translational processing of flavivirus structural proteins which then self-assembled to form virus-like particles in Nicotiana benthamiana. We performed oral toxicity tests in mice using various plant species as potential bioreactors and evaluated the immunogenicity of the resulting edible vaccine candidate. Mice immunized with the edible vaccine candidate did not survive challenge with TBE virus. Interestingly, immunization of female mice with a commercial TBE vaccine can protect their offspring against TBE virus infection.
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