Abstract:
Virus-like particles (VLPs) are nano-scale particles that are morphologically similar to a live virus but which lack a genetic component. Since the pandemic spread of COVID-19, much focus has been placed on coronavirus (CoV)-related VLPs. CoVs contain four structural proteins, though the minimum requirement for VLP formation differs among virus species. CoV VLPs are commonly produced in mammalian and insect cell systems, sometimes in the form of chimeric VLPs that enable surface display of CoV epitopes. VLPs are an ideal model for virological research and have been applied as vaccines and diagnostic reagents to aid in clinical disease control. This review summarizes and updates the research progress on the characteristics of VLPs from different known CoVs, mainly focusing on assembly, in vitro expression systems for VLP generation, VLP chimerism, protein-based nanoparticles and their applications in basic research and clinical settings, which may aid in development of novel VLP vaccines against emerging coronavirus diseases such as SARS-CoV-2.
摘要:
病毒样颗粒(VLP)是在形态上与活病毒相似但缺乏遗传成分的纳米级颗粒。自从COVID-19大流行蔓延以来,人们一直将重点放在与冠状病毒(CoV)相关的VLP上。CoV含有四种结构蛋白,尽管VLP形成的最低要求因病毒种类而异。CoVVLP通常在哺乳动物和昆虫细胞系统中产生,有时以嵌合VLP的形式实现CoV表位的表面展示。VLP是病毒学研究的理想模型,已被用作疫苗和诊断试剂,以帮助临床疾病控制。本文总结和更新了不同已知CoV的VLP特性的研究进展,主要集中在组装上,用于VLP生成的体外表达系统,VLP嵌合体,基于蛋白质的纳米颗粒及其在基础研究和临床环境中的应用,这可能有助于开发针对新出现的冠状病毒疾病的新型VLP疫苗,例如SARS-CoV-2。