Immunization with a Pentameric L1 Fusion Protein Protects against Papillomavirus Infection
Open Access
- 1 September 2001
- journal article
- Published by American Society for Microbiology in Journal of Virology
- Vol. 75 (17), 7848-7853
- https://doi.org/10.1128/jvi.75.17.7848-7853.2001
Abstract
The prophylactic papillomavirus vaccines currently in clinical trials are composed of viral L1 capsid protein that is synthesized in eukaryotic expression systems and purified in the form of virus-like particles (VLPs). To evaluate whether VLPs are necessary for effective vaccination, we expressed the L1 protein as a glutathioneS-transferase (GST) fusion protein in Escherichia coli and assayed its immunogenic activity in an established canine oral papillomavirus (COPV) model that previously validated the efficacy of VLP vaccines. The GST-COPV L1 fusion protein formed pentamers, but these capsomere-like structures did not assemble into VLPs. Despite the lack of VLP formation, the GST-COPV L1 protein retained its native conformation as determined by reactivity with conformation-specific anti-COPV antibodies. Most importantly, the GST-COPV L1 pentamers completely protected dogs from high-dose viral infection of their oral mucosa. L1 fusion proteins expressed in bacteria represent an economical alternative to VLPs as a human papillomavirus vaccine.Keywords
This publication has 48 references indexed in Scilit:
- Human papillomavirus vaccinesSeminars in Cancer Biology, 1999
- Two antibodies that neutralize papillomavirus by different mechanisms show distinct binding patterns at 13 Å resolutionJournal of Molecular Biology, 1998
- Expression of Human Papillomavirus Type 16 L1 Protein inEscherichia coli:Denaturation, Renaturation, and Self-Assembly of Virus-like Particlesin VitroVirology, 1998
- Papillomavirus-like particles and HPV vaccine developmentSeminars in Cancer Biology, 1996
- Viruses in Human CancersScience, 1991
- Comparison of neutralization of BPV‐1 infection of C127 cells and bovine fetal skin xenograftsInternational Journal of Cancer, 1991
- Humoral assays of human sera to disrupted and nondisrupted epitopes of human papillomavirus type 1Virology, 1990
- Expression of Human Papillomavirus Type 6 and Type 16 Capsid Proteins in Bacteria and Their Antigenic CharacterizationJournal of General Virology, 1987
- Expression of human papillomavirus type 6 El, E2, L1 and L2 open reading frames in Escherichia coliGene, 1987
- Self-assembly of purified polyomavirus capsid protein VP1Cell, 1986