Rational design of novel fusion rabies glycoproteins displaying a major antigenic site of foot-and-mouth disease virus for vaccine applications

ABSTRACT: Chimeric virus-like particles are self-assembling structures composed of viral proteins that had been modified to incorporate sequences from different organisms, being able to trigger immune responses against the heterologous sequence. However, the identification of suitable sites for that purpose in the carrier protein is not an easy task. In this work, we describe the generation of rabies chimeric VLPs that expose a major antigenic site of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) by identifying suitable regions in rabies glycoprotein (RVG), as a proof of concept of a novel heterologous display platform for vaccine applications. To identify adequate sites for insertion of heterologous sequences without altering the correct folding of RVG, we identified regions that were evolutionally non-conserved in Lyssavirus glycoproteins and performed a structural analysis of those regions using a 3D model of RVG trimer that we generated. The heterologous sequence was inserted in three different sites within RVG sequence. In every case, it did not affect the correct folding of the protein and was surface exposed, being recognized by anti-FMDV antibodies in expressing cells as well as in the surface of VLPs. This work sets the base for the development of a heterologous antigen display platform based on rabies VLPs. KEY POINTS: • Adequate regions for foreign epitope display in RVG were found. • G-H loop of FMDV was inserted in three regions of RVG. • The foreign epitope was detected by specific antibodies on fusion proteins. • G-H loop was detected on the surface of chimeric VLPs.