Concatenated multitype L2 fusion proteins as candidate prophylactic pan-human papillomavirus vaccines.

Background: Vaccination with minor capsid protein L2 induces antibodies that cross-neutralize diverse papillomavirus types. However, neutralizing antibody titers against the papillomavirus type from which the L2 vaccine was derived are generally higher than the titers against heterologous types, which could limit effectiveness against heterologous types. We hypothesized that vaccination with concatenated multitype L2 fusion proteins derived from known cross-protective epitopes of several divergent human papillomavirus (HPV) types might enhance immunity across clinically relevant HPV genotypes.