Alphavirus-Based Vaccines

Lundstrom, Kenneth

So far, alphaviruses have been applied for the expression of a number of topologically different recombinant proteins [9] . Particularly, the use of SFV particles has resulted in high expression levels of integral membrane proteins in various mammalian host cell lines [10] , in primary neurons [11] and in vivo [12] . For vaccine development, vectors based on SFV, SIN and VEE have been applied as naked RNA, recombinant virus particles and layered DNA vectors [13] . In this context, viral and tumor antigens have been administered in various animal models to elicit neutralizing antibodies and protection against challenges with tumor cells or lethal doses of viruses. Moreover, non-viral pathogens have been subjected to vaccine development. Replicon particles derived from VEE have furthermore demonstrated activity as safe and potent systemic, mucosal and cellular adjuvants when co-administered with antigen [14] . Finally, as alphaviruses have been identified as the cause of viral epidemics in animals and humans, a number of approaches have been initiated for immunization against alphavirus-based infections. In this review, the latest development on alphavirus vectors for vaccine production is summarized.