A novel rubella candidate vaccine based on a structurally modified plant virus – spherical particles (SPs) – was developed. SPs generated by the thermal remodelling of the tobacco mosaic virus are promising platforms for the development of vaccines. SPs combine unique properties: biosafety, stability, high immunogenicity and the effective adsorption of antigens. We assembled in vitro and characterised complexes (candidate vaccine) based on SPs and the rubella virus recombinant antigen. The candidate vaccine induced a strong humoral immune response against rubella. The IgG isotypes ratio indicated the predominance of IgG1 which plays a key role in immunity to natural rubella infection. The immune response was generally directed against the rubella antigen within the complexes. We suggest that SPs can act as a platform (depot) for the rubella antigen, enhancing specific immune response. Our results demonstrate that SPs-antigen complexes can be an effective and safe candidate vaccine against rubella.

基于结构修饰的植物病毒-球形颗粒（SPs）的新型风疹候选疫苗已开发出来。通过烟草花叶病毒的热重塑产生的SP是开发疫苗的有希望的平台。SP具有独特的特性：生物安全性，稳定性，高免疫原性和有效吸附抗原的能力。我们在体外组装并基于SP和风疹病毒重组抗原鉴定了复合物（候选疫苗）。候选疫苗可诱导针对风疹的强烈体液免疫反应。IgG同种型比率表明IgG1占主导地位，而IgG1在抵抗自然风疹感染的免疫中起关键作用。免疫反应通常针对复合物中的风疹抗原。我们建议SP可以充当风疹抗原的平台（长效库），从而增强特异性免疫反应。我们的结果表明，SPs-抗原复合物可以作为一种有效且安全的抗风疹候选疫苗。