Qinba State Key Laboratory of Biological Resources and Ecological Environment, College of Biological Science and Engineering, Shaanxi University of Technology, Hanzhong, Shaanxi 723000, China.
Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, National University of Singapore, 10 Keng Ridge Crescent, 119260, Singapore.
ACS Synth Biol. 2023 Dec 15;12(12):3704-3715. doi: 10.1021/acssynbio.3c00503. Epub 2023 Nov 9.
Virus-like particles (VLPs) are nanostructures with the potential to present heterologous peptides at high density, thereby triggering heightened immunogenicity. RNA bacteriophage MS2 VLPs are a compelling delivery platform among them. However, a notable hurdle arises from the immune response toward MS2 coat protein, swiftly eliminating subsequent vaccinations via the same vector. Although larger inserts effectively mask carrier epitopes, current research predominantly focuses on displaying short conserved peptides (<30 aa). A systematic evaluation regarding the deterministic ability of MS2 VLPs as a platform for presenting heterologous peptides remains a gap. In light of this, we employed the "single-chain dimer" paradigm to scrutinize the tolerance of MS2 VLPs for peptide/protein insertions. The results unveiled functional MS2 VLP assembly solely for inserts smaller than 91 aa. Particularly noteworthy is the largest insertion achieved on the MS2 VLPs to date: the RNA helicase A (RHA) dsRNA-binding domains (dsRBD1). Attempts to introduce additional linkers or empty coat subunits fail to augment the expression level or assembly of the MS2 VLPs displaying dsRBD1, affirming 91 aa as the upper threshold for exogenous protein presentation. By illuminating the precise confines of MS2 VLPs in accommodating distinct peptide lengths, our study informs the selection of appropriate peptide and protein dimensions. This revelation not only underscores the scope of MS2 VLPs but also establishes a pivotal reference point, facilitating the strategic manipulation of MS2 VLPs to design next-generation epitope/antibody-based therapeutics.
病毒样颗粒(VLPs)是具有在高密度下呈现异源肽的潜力的纳米结构,从而引发更高的免疫原性。RNA 噬菌体 MS2 VLP 是其中一种很有吸引力的递呈平台。然而,一个显著的障碍是针对 MS2 外壳蛋白的免疫反应,这种反应会迅速通过相同的载体消除随后的疫苗接种。尽管较大的插入物有效地掩盖了载体表位,但当前的研究主要集中在展示短的保守肽(<30 aa)上。关于 MS2 VLP 作为呈现异源肽的平台的确定性能力的系统评估仍然存在空白。有鉴于此,我们采用了“单链二聚体”范例来仔细研究 MS2 VLP 对肽/蛋白插入的容忍度。结果表明,MS2 VLP 仅对小于 91 aa 的插入物进行功能性组装。特别值得注意的是,迄今为止在 MS2 VLP 上实现的最大插入物是 RNA 解旋酶 A(RHA)双链 RNA 结合结构域(dsRBD1)。尝试引入额外的接头或空外壳亚基都无法提高显示 dsRBD1 的 MS2 VLP 的表达水平或组装,这证实了 91 aa 是外源蛋白呈现的上限。通过阐明 MS2 VLP 容纳不同肽长度的确切限制,我们的研究为选择适当的肽和蛋白尺寸提供了信息。这一发现不仅突出了 MS2 VLP 的范围,而且建立了一个关键的参考点,有助于对 MS2 VLP 进行策略性操作,以设计下一代表位/抗体为基础的治疗方法。