• Vaccine Name: Human papillomavirus L2 protein vaccine
• Target Pathogen: Human Papillomavirus
• Target Disease: HPV infection
• Vaccine Ontology ID: VO_0011397
• Type: Subunit vaccine
• Status: Research
• Antigen: Human papillomavirus L2
• L2 HPV 16 gene engineering:
  • Type: Recombinant protein preparation
  • Description: The L2 genes were subcloned into the pET28a vector (Novagen, San Diego, CA) and the resulting hexahistidine (6His)-tagged recombinant polypeptides expressed in E coli BL21 (Rosetta cells; Novagen). The recombinant L2 polypeptides were affinity purified by binding to a nickel–nitrilotriacetic acid column (Qiagen, Valencia, CA) in 8 M urea (using the QiaExpressionist standard purification protocol for denaturing conditions) and then dialyzed in cassettes (Pierce, Rockland, NJ) against phosphate-buffered saline (PBS, 137 mM NaCl, 12 mM phosphate, 2.7 mM KCl) (Jagu et al., 2009).
  • Detailed Gene Information: Click Here.
• Adjuvant:
  • Adjuvant name:
  • VO adjuvant ID: VO_0000884
  • Description: GPI-0100 adjuvant or alum (Jagu et al., 2009)
• Immunization Route: Subcutaneous injection

Mouse Response

• Host Strain: BALB/c
• Vaccination Protocol: Balb/c mice (n=120, from NCI, Frederick, MD) were vaccinated in groups of five mice three times at 2-week intervals by subcutaneous injection with 10 μg of HPV-16 or HPV-45 L1 VLP, or the adjuvants alum (1.3 mg), or 1018 ISS alone (10 μg/mouse), or 25 μg of recombinant L2-based antigens including 11-200 × 1, 11-200 × 3, 1-88 × 1, 11-88 × 5, 17-36 × 22, or HPV-16 L2 17-36 peptide prepared by chemical synthesis (Sigma Aldrich, St Louis, MO) in the formulations indicated: PBS alone, or alum alone (1.3 mg), or 1018 ISS alone (10 μg/mouse), or 25 μg 11-200 × 3 alone, or formulated with alum (1.3 mg), or with 1018 ISS (10 μg/mouse), or with GPI-0100 (at either 50 or 200 μg/mouse), or with GPI-0100 (50 μg/mouse) + Tween-40 (1 mg/mouse), or with alum and 1018 ISS (10 μg/mouse) (Jagu et al., 2009).
• Challenge Protocol: All mice were anesthetized, and a patch of skin on their ventral torso was shaved with an electric razor while taking care not to traumatize the epithelium, before challenge by application of approximately 3 × 10^9 HPV-16 pseudovirion particles (100 ng protein) that encapsidated pYLUC, a plasmid carrying a luciferase gene that would be expressed upon pseudoinfection (http://home.ccr.cancer.gov/lco/) in 10 μL 0.6% carboxymethylcellulose (Sigma Aldrich) to the patch of shaved skin on each mouse (Jagu et al., 2009).
• Efficacy: Antibody responses of mice (n = 120) and rabbits (n = 23) to vaccination with HPV-16 amino-terminal L2 polypeptides or multitype L2 fusion proteins were compared. 11-200 x 3 formulated in GPI-0100 adjuvant or alum with 1018 ISS protected mice against HPV-16 challenge (reduction in HPV-16 infection vs phosphate-buffered saline control, P < .001) 4 months after vaccination as well as HPV-16 L1 VLPs (Jagu et al., 2009).