Virus-like particles (VLPs)

04.06.2024

Virus-like particles (VLPs)

Why in the news?

           Scientists at the Institute of Advanced Virology (IAV), Thiruvananthapuram, recently developed a novel way of generating non-infectious Nipah virus-like particles (VLPs) in the laboratory.

About Virus-like Particles (VLPs):

• They are molecules that resemble viruses but lack infectivity because of the absence of viral genetic material.
• They are a very effective way of creating vaccines against diseases such as human papillomavirus (HPV), hepatitis B, malaria, and more.
• As they are very similar to real viral molecules, introducing a VLP into the body will trigger an immune response, but a person will not experience any symptoms of the virus they are being vaccinated against.
• Once the body has had an immune response to the VLP, it will recognize the virus and prevent infection in the future, giving people immunity to that particular virus.

Structure:

• They are very small, with a particle radius of approximately 20 to 200 nm. This means that they can easily enter the lymph nodes, where the immune system is activated in the case of an infection.
• A VLP consists of one or more structural proteins that can be arranged in multiple layers.
• They can also contain an outer lipid envelope, which is the outermost layer that covers a large number of different viruses.  This outer layer protects the genetic material inside the virus particle.
• Creating a VLP vaccine can use bacterial, yeast, insect or mammalian cells.
• When used as a vaccine, VLPs cause a robust immunogenic response due to their high-density display of epitopes and the capacity to present multiple proteins to the immune system.
• Most recently, VLPs have been employed as nanomachines to deliver pharmaceutically active products to specific sites and into specific cells in the body.

Key Facts about Nipah Virus:

• It is a zoonotic virus (it is transmitted from animals to humans) and can also be transmitted through contaminated food or directly between people.
• In infected people, it causes a range of illnesses, from asymptomatic (subclinical) infection to acute respiratory illness and fatal encephalitis.
• The virus can also cause severe disease in animals, such as pigs, resulting in significant economic losses for farmers. 
• It first broke out in Malaysia and Singapore in 1998 and 1999.

Treatment:

• There are currently no drugs or vaccines specific for Nipah virus infection.
• Intensive supportive care is recommended to treat severe respiratory and neurologic complications.

                                                                      Source: The Hindu

Ques :- With reference to Virus-like particles (VLPs), consider the following statements:

1. VLPs are molecules that resemble viruses but lack infectivity because of the absence of viral genetic material.

2. They are a very effective way of creating vaccines against viral diseases.

3. They can be employed as nanomachines to deliver pharmaceutically active products to specific sites in the body.

How many of the statements given above are correct?

A.Only one

B.Only two

C.All three

D.None

Answer C