A direct comparison of human papillomavirus type 16 L1 particles reveals a lower immunogenicity of capsomeres than viruslike particles with respect to the induced antibody response.

Capsomeres are considered to be an alternative to viruslike particle (VLP)-based vaccines as they can be produced in prokaryotic expression systems. So far, no detailed side-by-side comparison of VLPs and capsomeres has been performed. In the present study, we immunized mice with insect cell-derived human papillomavirus type 16 VLPs and capsomeres.