Virus-like particles (VLPs) have the potential to be used as display platforms to develop vaccines against infectious and non-infectious agents. However, most VLPs used as vaccine display platforms are derived from viruses that infect humans; unfortunately, most humans already have pre-existing antibodies against these platforms and thus, the immunogenicity of these vaccines may be compromised. VLP platforms derived from viruses that infect bacteria (bacteriophages), especially bacteriophages that infect bacteria, which do not colonize humans are less likely to have pre-existing antibodies against the platforms in the human population. In this study, we assessed whether two putative coat proteins (ORF13 and ORF14) derived from a thermophilic bacteriophage (ΦIN93) can be expressed and purified from a mesophilic bacterium such as E. coli. We also assessed whether expressed coat proteins can assemble to form VLPs. Truncated versions of ORF13 and ORF14 were successfully co-expressed in bacteria; the co-expressed truncated proteins formed oval structures that look like VLPs, but their sizes were less than those of an authentic ΦIN93 virus.

病毒样颗粒 (VLP) 有可能被用作展示平台，以开发针对传染性和非传染性病原体的疫苗。然而，大多数用作疫苗展示平台的 VLP 都来源于感染人类的​​病毒；不幸的是，大多数人已经具有针对这些平台的预先存在的抗体，因此，这些疫苗的免疫原性可能会受到影响。源自感染细菌（噬菌体）的病毒的 VLP 平台，尤其是感染细菌的噬菌体，不会在人类中定殖，不太可能在人群中具有针对该平台的预先存在的抗体。在这项研究中，我们评估了两种来自嗜热噬菌体 (ΦIN93) 的假定外壳蛋白 (ORF13 和 ORF14) 是否可以从嗜温细菌中表达和纯化，例如大肠杆菌。我们还评估了表达的外壳蛋白是否可以组装形成 VLP。ORF13 和 ORF14 的截短版本在细菌中成功共表达；共表达的截短蛋白形成了看起来像 VLP 的椭圆形结构，但它们的大小小于真正的 ΦIN93 病毒。