Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Raphael P. P. Viscidi, Treva Rowley, Ioannis Bossis
Summary: Recent research has highlighted the important role of tissue-resident memory T cells (T-RM cells) and a subset of dendritic cells in inducing strong protective immune responses. However, effective vaccine technologies that can induce robust CD8+ T cell responses through cross-priming are lacking. Here, we developed a platform technology using genetically engineered bovine papillomavirus virus-like particles (VLPs) that possess self-adjuvant properties. These polyionic VLP vaccines were able to induce robust CD8+ T cell responses in peripheral blood and tumor tissues, and outperformed other vaccines and immunotherapies for the treatment of prostate cancer in a relevant murine model. The immunogenicity of polyionic VLP vaccines depended on particle size, reversible antigen-VLP linkage, and a mechanism involving type 1 interferon and Toll-like receptor (TLR)3/7.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Review
Immunology
Reeshu Gupta, Kajal Arora, Sourav Singha Roy, Abyson Joseph, Ruchir Rastogi, Nupur Mehrotra Arora, Prabuddha K. Kundu
Summary: Viral infectious diseases pose a threat to human health and global stability. Various vaccine platforms, such as DNA, mRNA, recombinant viral vectors, and virus-like particle-based vaccines, have been developed to combat these diseases. Virus-like particles (VLPs) have shown promise as successful vaccines against prevalent and emerging diseases, but commercialization has been limited so far. Technical difficulties and the need for large-scale production methods have hindered the progress of VLP-based vaccines.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Immunology
Nikole L. Warner, Kathryn M. Frietze
Summary: Dengue virus (DENV) remains a significant global health issue and efforts to engineer epitope-based vaccines targeting the NS1 protein show promising results in mice, eliciting antibodies that bind to recombinant NS1 and DENV-infected cells. This research highlights the potential of epitope-specific vaccines as a promising approach for developing DENV vaccines or therapeutics.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Vili Lampinen, Suvi Heinimaki, Olli H. Laitinen, Marko Pesu, Minna M. Hankaniemi, Vesna Blazevic, Vesa P. Hytoenen
Summary: The study demonstrated the efficient expression and purification of SpyTagged noro-VLP in insect cells, which showed stability for months when refrigerated in a physiological buffer. The conserved influenza antigens were produced separately and conjugated on the surface of noro-VLP, inducing high titers of antibody production. The noro-VLP platform offers a rapid, convenient, and safe method for presenting various soluble protein antigens to the immune system.
JOURNAL OF NANOBIOTECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Yiwen Zhao, Zhuofan Li, Jewel Voyer, Yibo Li, Xinyuan Chen
Summary: This study explored a hybrid flagellin/HBc VLP (FH VLP) platform to present heterologous antigens. The FH VLPs were found to be highly immunogenic, safe, and versatile for vaccine development, eliciting potent humoral and cellular immune responses and providing significant protection against multiple viral strains and challenges.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Louise Goksoyr, Magdalena Skrzypczak, Maureen Sampson, Morten A. Nielsen, Ali Salanti, Thor G. Theander, Alan T. Remaley, Willem A. De Jongh, Adam F. Sander
Summary: Administration of PCSK9-specific monoclonal antibodies and peptide-based PCSK9 vaccines can reduce plasma LDL cholesterol by blocking PCSK9. However, these treatments also increase plasma PCSK9 levels due to the formation of immune complexes. A study using a cVLP-based vaccine platform shows that the FL PCSK9 cVLP vaccine has an enhanced ability to opsonize and clear plasma PCSK9. These findings have implications for the design of vaccines that can effectively mediate opsonization and immune clearance of target antigens.
Article
Microbiology
Velasco Cimica, Sahar Saleem, Emily Matuczinski, Debra Adams-Fish, Conor McMahon, Sujatha Rashid, Timothy T. Stedman
Summary: Powassan virus (POWV) is a tick-borne flavivirus that can cause severe neuroinvasive diseases in North America and the Russian Far East, with no approved vaccines or specific therapeutics available. A novel POW-VLP vaccine candidate was developed and shown to generate high antigenicity and neutralizing antibody levels in immunized mice. This provides a strategy for inducing protective antibodies against Powassan neuroinvasive infection.
Article
Immunology
Matthew D. Resch, Ke Wen, Ryan Mazboudi, Hannah Mulhall Maasz, Mirjana Persaud, Kaitlyn Garvey, Leslie Gallardo, Paul Gottlieb, Aleksandra Alimova, Reza Khayat, Jorge Morales, Helle Bielefeldt-Ohmann, Richard A. Bowen, Jose M. Galarza
Summary: VLP vaccines exhibit strong immune responses against SARS-CoV-2, showing neutralizing activity against multiple virus variants. In the Golden Syrian hamster model, VLP vaccines offer significant protection against infection with the Beta or Delta variants of SARS-CoV-2.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Sima Sazegari, Malihe Akbarzadeh Niaki, Alireza Afsharifar, Ali Niazi, Abdollah Derakhshandeh, Maryam Moradi Vahdat, Farshad Hemmati, Mohammad Hadi Eskandari
Summary: In this study, a SARS-CoV2 vaccine based on HBc virus-like particles (VLP) was developed using the E. coli expression system. Immunization of mice with the vaccine demonstrated its effectiveness in inducing antibody production. These findings suggest that this platform has the potential to be a promising strategy for vaccine development.
MICROBIAL CELL FACTORIES
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Wenjing Li, Zhe Jing, Shuqing Wang, Qiyu Li, Yutong Xing, Haobo Shi, Shuang Li, Zhangyong Hong
Summary: This study utilized virus-like particles (VLPs) derived from the phage P22 to deliver peptide antigens efficiently for therapeutic cancer vaccines. Results demonstrated the potential advantages of VLPs as vaccine carriers and showed that VLP-OVAT significantly inhibited tumor growth in mouse models.
Article
Immunology
Junyun He, Huafang Lai, Adrian Esqueda, Qiang Chen
Summary: The study developed a VLP vaccine based on HBcAg displaying WNV Envelope protein wDIII, which showed high immunogenicity and potential as an effective, safe, and low-cost option for WNV vaccines.
Article
Immunology
Yi-xue Sun, Zheng-rong Li, Peng-ju Zhang, Jin-hong Han, Hai-yang Di, Jia-yi Qin, Yan-long Cong
Summary: H9N2 and H3N2 are two important subtypes of avian influenza viruses. Commercially available inactivated H9N2 vaccines are widely used, but there is no available avian H3N2 vaccine. A new chimeric bivalent VLPs vaccine was developed in this study, which showed effective immune response and complete protection against H9N2 and H3N2 viruses. Furthermore, it can differentiate infected animals from vaccinated animals and has great potential for commercial development.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Virology
Jielin Tang, Muqing Fu, Chonghui Xu, Bao Xue, Anqi Zhou, Sijie Chen, He Zhao, Yuan Zhou, Jizheng Chen, Qi Yang, Xinwen Chen
Summary: A novel strategy of using VLPs as vaccine against TBEV was developed and showed promising results in mice, including the ability to generate cross-reactive antibodies and provide protection against TBEV infection and pathology.
Article
Virology
Sandra R. Abbo, Wilson Nguyen, Marleen H. C. Abma-Henkens, Denise van de Kamer, Niek H. A. Savelkoul, Corinne Geertsema, Thuy T. T. Le, Bing Tang, Kexin Yan, Troy Dumenil, Monique M. van Oers, Andreas Suhrbier, Gorben P. Pijlman
Summary: Mayaro virus is associated with acute rheumatic disease and has the potential to emerge as a tropical public health threat. Researchers developed a virus-like particle vaccine against Mayaro virus, which induced neutralizing antibodies and protected mice against infection and disease.
JOURNAL OF VIROLOGY
(2023)
Article
Immunology
Laurits Fredsgaard, Louise Goksoyr, Susan Thrane, Kara-Lee Aves, Thor G. Theander, Adam F. Sander
Summary: The study showed that utilizing covalent antigen conjugation (such as the SpyTag/SpyCatcher system) resulted in significantly higher antigen-specific IgG titers compared to using affinity-based conjugation (such as biotin/streptavidin). In addition, the choice of cVLP backbone also influenced the antigen-specific IgG response, with vaccines based on the AP205 cVLP inducing higher levels of immune responses.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Dong Liu, Ruirui Guo, Shuangshuang Mao, Yanjie Huang, Bin Wang, Zijian Wu, Xuanjie Xia, Jian Dong, Yu Xin, Ruiyang Xie, Jianzhong Shou, Wei Sun, Yuan Pang, Yuan Lu
Summary: Nanocatalytic medicine triggering in situ catalytic reactions has shown promise for tumor-selective therapeutics. However, the distribution of nanocatalysts remains low due to the lack of targeting propulsion capability. In this study, a sunflower-like nanocatalytic active swarm controlled by a 3D magnetic field was proposed for tumor-targeting therapeutics. The efficacy of the swarm was evaluated using a patient-derived renal cancer cell 3D organoid, resulting in efficient tumor cell apoptosis and death. The study highlights the importance of magnetic control technology in advancing cancer therapy and demonstrates the effectiveness of 3D patient-derived organoids for verifying nanocatalytic medicine.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Qingyan Yuan, Minhui Wu, Yibo Liao, Shuli Liang, Yuan Lu, Ying Lin
Summary: A strategy combining cell-free protein synthesis with split green fluorescent protein was developed to rapidly prototype enzyme homologs, addressing the laborious and time-consuming process of engineering biological systems for testing different pathway variants. This strategy allowed for parallel production of dozens of enzyme homologs within hours, and their expression level and activity could be determined simultaneously using the split GFP assay. The strategy was successfully applied to optimize a 3-step pathway for NMN synthesis, resulting in a more than 12-fold improvement in NMN production.
BIOTECHNOLOGY AND BIOENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Dong Liu, Dayin Sun, Jiaxin Zhou, Haoran Liu, Ruirui Guo, Bin Wang, Wenjun Ma, Zhenzhong Yang, Yuan Lu
Summary: This article introduces the potential of micro/nanorobots in biomedical applications and the current challenges they face. Inspired by the halfmoon betta fish, the researchers designed halfmoon Janus microrobots with stable directional motion. Through rational morphological design and an interface-free Janus preparation method, enhanced motion performance and programmable motion control were achieved. The microrobots were also used as active catalytic carriers for tumor-targeted propulsion and active tumor therapeutics.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
(2023)
Letter
Biology
Xihao Liao, Changge Guan, Chenghua Wang, Xinjie Chen, Xiaomei Lin, Lianghua Lu, Lu Li, Ting Wang, Nan Su, Bian Wu, Xinquan Wang, Chong Zhang, Yi Wang, Yuan Lu, Xin-Hui Xing
SCIENCE CHINA-LIFE SCIENCES
(2023)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Chuanting Qin, Yi Wang, Jiawang Hu, Ting Wang, Dong Liu, Jian Dong, Yuan Lu
Summary: The bioelectronic nose (B-EN) is an emerging sensing technology that can identify volatile organic compounds (VOCs) with high sensitivity and specificity for applications in medical diagnosis, public security, environmental monitoring, and food safety. However, there is currently no commercially available B-EN on the market. This work discusses the structure and operational mechanisms of biomimetic olfactory systems, focusing on the development and immobilization of materials. Various biosensor applications and current developments are reviewed, along with the challenges and opportunities for realizing the potential of artificial olfactory biohybrid systems in fundamental and practical research.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Ting Wang, Xiaomei Lin, Yuting Li, Yuan Lu
Summary: Researchers successfully synthesized the full-length ACE2 using cell-free membrane protein synthesis systems. They found that the interaction between ACE2 and SARS-CoV-2 is influenced by a single transmembrane helix. This study provides important insights into the structure and function of ACE2.
ADVANCED MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Xinjie Chen, Chen Wang, Yuan Lu
Summary: Facing the development of mRNA technology in medicine and vaccines, circular mRNA (circmRNA) has gained traction as a promising alternative due to its circular secondary structure and higher stability. This study explores different strategies for circmRNA biosynthesis through ribozyme catalysis and enzymatic reactions. The chosen methods, T4 Rnl 2 and Td ribozyme, show significant differences in ligation efficiency, with T4 Rnl 2 resulting in an 86% higher expression level of circmRNA. The screening of IRES sequences reveals mud crab dicistrovirus IRES as a high-efficiency sequence for translation in mammalian cells. These findings hold promise for the industrial production of circmRNAs and the development of mRNA vaccines, expanding the potential applications of circmRNAs in biomedicine.
BIOTECHNOLOGY AND BIOENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Xiaowen Cheng, Chen Wang, Junzhu Yang, Dong Liu, Yuting Liao, Bin Wang, Sanyang Han, Xue Zhang, Hao Zheng, Yuan Lu
Summary: Bumblebees as important pollinators and the regulation of gut microorganisms is crucial for their health. This study uses nanotransducers to achieve precise control of engineered bacteria in bumblebee gut, providing a foundation for treating intestinal parasitic diseases and eliminating pesticide residues.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Yanan Wang, Ting Wang, Xinjie Chen, Yuan Lu
Summary: A cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS) system based on Pichia pastoris yeast was constructed, providing a low-cost and time-efficient platform for protein research and synthesis. The combination of IRES and Kozak sequences revealed that cricket paralysis virus (CRPV) was the best translation initiation element among 14 different IRESs. Optimization of system components and reaction environment led to increased protein yield. This P. pastoris CFPS system extends the eukaryotic CFPS platform and enables fast prototyping design and functional protein synthesis.
BIORESOURCES AND BIOPROCESSING
(2023)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Dong Liu, Yingying Liu, Hua-Zhen Duan, Xinjie Chen, Yanan Wang, Ting Wang, Qing Yu, Yong-Xiang Chen, Yuan Lu
Summary: This study customized the cell-free protein synthesis machinery and successfully synthesized phosphoproteins with site-specific phosphorylated amino acids, laying the foundation for developing a highly expansible CFPS platform and streamlining the production of user-defined phosphoproteins.
SYNTHETIC AND SYSTEMS BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Yanjie Huang, Dong Liu, Ruirui Guo, Bin Wang, Yuan Lu
Summary: In order to address the serious threat of infections caused by multidrug-resistant bacteria, researchers have developed jellyfish-like irregular mesoporous iron oxide nanoreactors that can efficiently kill bacteria through synergistic action of different components.
ACS APPLIED BIO MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Jiawang Hu, Dong Liu, Xuanjie Xia, Bin Wang, Donglei Pan, Yifan Cheng, Yuan Lu
Summary: Achieving instant and accurate human identification through body odors is challenging. This study utilized an in-situ growth strategy to establish a gas-sensitive nanocomposite material library with MXene and perovskite. A plug-and-play bionic sensor array module based on the material library was manufactured and assembled into an instant detection platform (IDP). Machine learning algorithms were introduced to assist IDP in identifying human odors. The material library exhibited higher performance and responded 37% to 70% higher than initial MXene due to its unique Schottky Barrier structure. IDP was successfully applied to detect the odors of volunteers' breaths and clothes with an accuracy rate of 69.2% and 51.1%, respectively. Overall, an instant, convenient, and accurate human identification prototype machine was fabricated, providing a general solution for more complex application scenarios.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
(2023)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Chenghai Bai, Chen Wang, Yuan Lu
Summary: mRNA therapy has great potential in various fields, but faces challenges in efficient delivery due to its negative charges and susceptibility to degradation. Conventional vectors such as viruses and liposomes are no longer sufficient, leading to the emergence of novel delivery vectors and strategies. This review discusses biomacromolecules, inorganic nanoparticles, controlled-release administration, and non-invasive administration as innovative solutions for mRNA delivery.
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Donglei Pan, Jiawang Hu, Bin Wang, Xuanjie Xia, Yifan Cheng, Cheng-Hua Wang, Yuan Lu
Summary: This article introduces biomimetic wearable sensing devices and their applications in medical monitoring and flexible electronics. By reviewing the mechanism of biomimetic materials, it demonstrates their role in enhancing system functionality. It also presents wearable artificial sensory systems that integrate biomimetic sensing into portable devices, offering solutions to current challenges and limitations.
Article
Materials Science, Biomaterials
Ruirui Guo, Bin Wang, Dong Liu, Yanjie Huang, Yuan Lu
Summary: The nanorobots (Cu@MPS-GOD) prepared in this study possess magnetic responsiveness and enzyme-like activity, enabling them to enrich and move to tumor sites under a 3D magnetic field. They induce tumor cell immunogenic death through cascade catalytic Fenton reactions and activate immune cells or induce cancer cells to expose surface antigens, triggering systemic anti-cancer immunity. These nanorobots show a significant inhibitory effect on a breast tumor model in mice, with an inhibition rate of 59.3%.
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY B
(2023)