title: Production of hepatitis E virus-like particles presenting multiple foreign epitopes by co-infection of recombinant baculoviruses.
abstract: Hepatitis E virus (HEV) causes not only endemics via a fecal-oral route but also sporadic cases via zoonotic transmission or blood transfusion. HEV-like particles (HEV-LP) produced by using a baculovirus expression system are considered a candidate for mucosal vaccines for HEV infection. In this study, we attempted to produce a chimeric HEV-LP presenting various foreign epitopes on its surface. Expression of the recombinant capsid proteins carrying a myc- or FLAG-tag inserted between amino acid residues 488 and 489, which are located in the exterior loop on the protruding domain of the HEV capsid, resulted in the production of recombinant HEV-LP. Although expression of the recombinant capsid protein carrying the HA-tag inserted at the same site failed to produce any particles, co-expression with the myc-tagged capsid protein successfully yielded a chimeric HEV-LP consisting of both recombinant capsid proteins. Immunoprecipitation analyses confirmed that the chimeric particles present these foreign epitopes on the surface. Similar results were obtained for the expression of the recombinant capsid proteins carrying neutralizing epitopes of Japanese encephalitis virus. These results suggest the chimeric HEV-LP system provides a novel vaccine carrier that can accommodate multiple neutralizing epitopes on its surface.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Virology, Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University, Osaka , Japan.|Central Research Institute for Feed and Livestock, ZEN-NOH (National Federation of Agricultural Co-operative Associations), Ibaraki, Japan.
authors.forename: Ryoichi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Shima
authors.affiliation: Department of Virology II, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Tian Cheng
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Central Research Institute for Feed and Livestock, ZEN-NOH (National Federation of Agricultural Co-operative Associations), Ibaraki, Japan.
authors.forename: Yutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sendai
authors.affiliation: Department of Virology II, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Chikako
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kataoka
authors.affiliation: Department of Virology III, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshio
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Mori
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Virology, Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University, Osaka , Japan.
authors.forename: Takayuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Abe
authors.affiliation: Thailand-Japan Research Collaboration Center on Emerging and Re-emerging Infections (RCC-ERI), Nonthaburi, Thailand.
authors.forename: Naokazu
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Takeda
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Virology, Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University, Osaka , Japan.
authors.forename: Toru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Okamoto
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Virology, Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University, Osaka , Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshiharu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Matsuura
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D016367:Baculoviridae / Q000235:genetics*; D036022:Capsid Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D000939:Epitopes / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D016752:Hepatitis E virus / Q000235:genetics*; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D061987:Sf9 Cells; D018411:Spodoptera; D014161:Transduction, Genetic; D014612:Vaccines / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D036022:Capsid Proteins; D000939:Epitopes; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D014612:Vaccines