Development of a novel vaccine carrier for the next-generation influenza universal vaccine

病毒样颗粒（Virus-like particles，VLP）是一种安全、高效的疫苗载体。然而，目前尚不清楚基于多瘤病毒的VLP是否可用于此目的。在这里，我们试图评估使用猴病毒40（SV 40）的抗病毒疫苗的多瘤病毒VLP的潜力。我们构建了嵌合SV 40-VLP，其携带来自甲型流感病毒的HLA-A*02：01限制性细胞毒性T淋巴细胞（CTL）表位。然后用嵌合SV 40-VLP免疫HLA-A*02：01转基因小鼠。嵌合SV 40-VLP有效地诱导流感特异性CTL和针对甲型流感病毒的异亚型保护，而不需要佐剂。此外，用嵌合SV 40-VLP免疫产生持久记忆CTL。我们在这里提出，嵌合SV 40-VLP窝藏表位可能是一个有前途的CTL为基础的疫苗平台，具有自佐剂的性质。

Virus-like particles (VLPs) are a promising vaccine platform due to the safety and efficiency. However, it is still unclear whether polyomavirus-based VLPs are useful for this purpose. Here, we attempted to evaluate the potential of polyomavirus VLPs for the antiviral vaccine using simian virus 40 (SV40). We constructed chimeric SV40-VLPs carrying an HLA-A*02:01-restricted, cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) epitope derived from influenza A virus. HLA-A*02:01-transgenic mice were then immunized with the chimeric SV40-VLPs. The chimeric SV40-VLPs effectively induced influenza-specific CTLs and heterosubtypic protection against influenza A viruses without the need of adjuvants. In addition, immunization with the chimeric SV40-VLPs generated long-lasting memory CTLs. We here propose that the chimeric SV40-VLPs harboring an epitope may be a promising CTL-based vaccine platform with self-adjuvant properties.