Influenza Virus Like Particles (VLPs): Opportunities for H7N9 Vaccine Development. 2020

Peter Pushko, and Irina Tretyakova
Medigen, Inc., 8420 Gas House Pike, Suite S, Frederick, MD 21701, USA.

In the midst of the ongoing COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, influenza virus remains a major threat to public health due to its potential to cause epidemics and pandemics with significant human mortality. Cases of H7N9 human infections emerged in eastern China in 2013 and immediately raised pandemic concerns as historically, pandemics were caused by the introduction of new subtypes into immunologically naïve human populations. Highly pathogenic H7N9 cases with severe disease were reported recently, indicating the continuing public health threat and the need for a prophylactic vaccine. Here we review the development of recombinant influenza virus-like particles (VLPs) as vaccines against H7N9 virus. Several approaches to vaccine development are reviewed including the expression of VLPs in mammalian, plant and insect cell expression systems. Although considerable progress has been achieved, including demonstration of safety and immunogenicity of H7N9 VLPs in the human clinical trials, the remaining challenges need to be addressed. These challenges include improvements to the manufacturing processes, as well as enhancements to immunogenicity in order to elicit protective immunity to multiple variants and subtypes of influenza virus.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D007252 Influenza Vaccines Vaccines used to prevent infection by viruses in the family ORTHOMYXOVIRIDAE. It includes both killed and attenuated vaccines. The composition of the vaccines is changed each year in response to antigenic shifts and changes in prevalence of influenza virus strains. The flu vaccines may be mono- or multi-valent, which contains one or more ALPHAINFLUENZAVIRUS and BETAINFLUENZAVIRUS strains. Flu Vaccine,Influenzavirus Vaccine,Monovalent Influenza Vaccine,Universal Flu Vaccine,Universal Influenza Vaccine,Flu Vaccines,High-Dose Trivalent Influenza Vaccine,Influenza Vaccine,Influenza Virus Vaccine,Influenza Virus Vaccines,Influenzavirus Vaccines,Intranasal Live-Attenuated Influenza Vaccine,LAIV Vaccine,Monovalent Influenza Vaccines,Quadrivalent Influenza Vaccine,Trivalent Influenza Vaccine,Trivalent Live Attenuated Influenza Vaccine,Universal Flu Vaccines,Universal Influenza Vaccines,Flu Vaccine, Universal,High Dose Trivalent Influenza Vaccine,Influenza Vaccine, Monovalent,Influenza Vaccine, Quadrivalent,Influenza Vaccine, Trivalent,Influenza Vaccine, Universal,Intranasal Live Attenuated Influenza Vaccine,Vaccine, Flu,Vaccine, Influenza,Vaccine, Influenza Virus,Vaccine, Influenzavirus,Vaccine, LAIV,Vaccine, Monovalent Influenza,Vaccine, Quadrivalent Influenza,Vaccine, Trivalent Influenza,Virus Vaccine, Influenza
D002986 Clinical Trials as Topic Works about pre-planned studies of the safety, efficacy, or optimum dosage schedule (if appropriate) of one or more diagnostic, therapeutic, or prophylactic drugs, devices, or techniques selected according to predetermined criteria of eligibility and observed for predefined evidence of favorable and unfavorable effects. This concept includes clinical trials conducted both in the U.S. and in other countries. Clinical Trial as Topic
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000818 Animals Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA. Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D000939 Epitopes Sites on an antigen that interact with specific antibodies. Antigenic Determinant,Antigenic Determinants,Antigenic Specificity,Epitope,Determinant, Antigenic,Determinants, Antigenic,Specificity, Antigenic
D000949 Histocompatibility Antigens Class II Large, transmembrane, non-covalently linked glycoproteins (alpha and beta). Both chains can be polymorphic although there is more structural variation in the beta chains. The class II antigens in humans are called HLA-D ANTIGENS and are coded by a gene on chromosome 6. In mice, two genes named IA and IE on chromosome 17 code for the H-2 antigens. The antigens are found on B-lymphocytes, macrophages, epidermal cells, and sperm and are thought to mediate the competence of and cellular cooperation in the immune response. The term IA antigens used to refer only to the proteins encoded by the IA genes in the mouse, but is now used as a generic term for any class II histocompatibility antigen. Antigens, Immune Response,Class II Antigens,Class II Histocompatibility Antigen,Class II Major Histocompatibility Antigen,Ia Antigens,Ia-Like Antigen,Ia-Like Antigens,Immune Response Antigens,Immune-Associated Antigens,Immune-Response-Associated Antigens,MHC Class II Molecule,MHC II Peptide,Class II Antigen,Class II Histocompatibility Antigens,Class II MHC Proteins,Class II Major Histocompatibility Antigens,Class II Major Histocompatibility Molecules,I-A Antigen,I-A-Antigen,IA Antigen,MHC Class II Molecules,MHC II Peptides,MHC-II Molecules,Antigen, Class II,Antigen, I-A,Antigen, IA,Antigen, Ia-Like,Antigens, Class II,Antigens, Ia,Antigens, Ia-Like,Antigens, Immune-Associated,Antigens, Immune-Response-Associated,I A Antigen,II Peptide, MHC,Ia Like Antigen,Ia Like Antigens,Immune Associated Antigens,Immune Response Associated Antigens,MHC II Molecules,Molecules, MHC-II,Peptide, MHC II,Peptides, MHC II
D000956 Antigens, Viral Substances elaborated by viruses that have antigenic activity. Viral Antigen,Viral Antigens,Antigen, Viral
D058425 Vaccines, Virus-Like Particle Vaccines using supra-molecular structures composed of multiple copies of recombinantly expressed viral structural proteins. They are often antigentically indistinguishable from the virus from which they were derived. Virus-Like Particle Vaccine,Virus-Like Particle Vaccines,Particle Vaccine, Virus-Like,Particle Vaccines, Virus-Like,Vaccine, Virus-Like Particle,Vaccines, Virus Like Particle,Virus Like Particle Vaccine,Virus Like Particle Vaccines
D064766 Influenza A Virus, H7N9 Subtype A subtype of INFLUENZA A VIRUS with the surface proteins hemagglutinin 7 and neuraminidase 9. This avian origin virus was first identified in humans in 2013. H7N9 subtype,H7N9 Virus,H7N9 Viruses,H7N9 subtypes,Virus, H7N9,subtype, H7N9

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