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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Microbiol.

Sec. Virology

Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1551395

Evaluation of the immune effect of foot-and-mouth disease virus-like particles derived from Pichia Pastoris on mice and pigs

Provisionally accepted
Zhiyao Li Zhiyao Li 1*Manyuan Bai Manyuan Bai 2Shuanghui YIN Shuanghui YIN 2Yan Yang Yan Yang 3Hu Dong Hu Dong 2Zhidong Teng Zhidong Teng 2Shiqi Sun Shiqi Sun 2Endong Bao Endong Bao 1Guo Huichen Guo Huichen 2
  • 1 Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
  • 2 Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China
  • 3 Agriculture and Rural Bureau of Yugur Autononomous County of Sunan, Zhangye, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is an acute, highly contagious, infectious disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals and the healthy development of animal husbandry. Despite the pivotal role of the inactivated FMD vaccine in preventing and controlling the disease, the production and preparation of the inactivated vaccine still present certain safety concerns. Virus-like particles (VLPs), which have a shell structure similar to that of the viruses but lack the genetic material of viruses, have emerged as a prominent area of research on developing next-generation FMD vaccines. In this study, co-expression of P1 and 3C was implemented to obtain the capsid protein of FMD virus (FMDV), and VLPs of FMD were prepared using Pichia Pastoris. Given that the enzymatic activity of 3C is not ideal in acidic yeast cells, the HLH pattern structure was added to the N-terminal end of 3C, which can be anchored near the exit of the nascent peptide chain of ribosomes. Furthermore, the promoter AOX, which regulates the expression of 3C, was enhanced by mutation. Then, FMDV VLPs were successfully produced in yeast. Immunization of mice and pigs with VLPs resulted in high levels of specific and neutralizing antibodies and provided protection against FMDV in pigs. In conclusion, FMDV VLPs can be successfully produced in P. Pastoris. This offers a new way to develop FMDV VLP vaccines.

    Keywords: Foot-and-Mouth Disease, Nascent-polypeptide-associated complex (NAC), Virus-like particles, Vaccines, Pichia pastoris

    Received: 25 Dec 2024; Accepted: 27 Mar 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Li, Bai, YIN, Yang, Dong, Teng, Sun, Bao and Huichen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Zhiyao Li, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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