Virus-like particles composed of the cowpea chlorotic mottle virus (CCMV) capsid protein (CP) have been extensively studied as carrier systems in nanoscience. One well-established method to improve their stability under physiological conditions is to fuse a stimulus-responsive elastin-like polypeptide (ELP) to the N-terminus of the CPs. Even though the N-terminus should in principle be localized in the inner cavity of the protein cage, studies on the native CCMV revealed its accessibility on the particle surface. We verified that such phenomenon also applies to ELP-CCMVs, by exploiting the covalent functionalization of the CP N-terminal domain a sortase A-mediated reaction. Western-blot analysis and Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) experiments furthermore revealed this to be caused by both the external display of the N-termini and the interchange of CPs among preformed capsids. Our findings demonstrate the tunability of ELP-CCMV stability and dynamics and their potential effect on the exploitation of such protein cages as a drug delivery system.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/d0ra07612k | DOI Listing |
J Virol
January 2025
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
The imperative for developing robust tools to detect, analyze, and characterize viruses has become increasingly evident as they continue to threaten human health. In this review, we focus on recent advancements in studying human viruses with flow virometry (FV), an emerging technique that has gained considerable momentum over the past 5 years. These advancements include the application of FV in viral surface phenotyping, viral protein functionality, virus sorting, vaccine development, and diagnostics.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMicroorganisms
January 2025
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Center for Structural Biology, McKnight Brain Institute, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA.
Goose parvovirus (GPV) is an etiological agent of Derzsy's disease, afflicting geese and Muscovy ducks worldwide. Its high mortality rate among goslings and ducklings causes large losses to the waterfowl industry. Toward molecular and structural characterization, virus-like particles (VLPs) of GPV were produced, and the capsid structure was determined by cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) at a resolution of 2.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVaccines (Basel)
January 2025
National Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 100052, China.
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Vaccines (Basel)
January 2025
Clinical Development, Takeda Pharmaceuticals International AG, Farman Strasse 11, Opfikon, 8152 Zurich, Switzerland.
Background: Major global economic and health burdens due to norovirus gastroenteritis could be addressed by an effective vaccine.
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Vaccines (Basel)
December 2024
Institute of Veterinary Immunology & Engineering, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanjing 210014, China.
Background: Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) causes significant economic losses, prompting vaccination as a primary control strategy. Virus-like particles (VLPs) have emerged as promising candidates for FMD vaccines but require adjuvants to enhance their immunogenicity. In this study, we evaluated the immunogenicity of a VLP-based vaccine with a water-in-oil-in-water (W/O/W) emulsion adjuvant, named WT.
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