Due to type-specificity, commercially available human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines are only effective against homologous HPV serotypes, providing limited protection. Recent studies have highlighted the role of HPV minor capsid protein (known as L2) in inducing cross-protection. The N-terminal peptides of L2 contain conserved cross-response epitopes that can induce neutralizing antibodies against heterogeneous HPVs. However, when compared with L1, these peptides have lower immunogenicity, which limits the application of these vaccines. The protein transduction domain (PTD), located in the Tat protein of human immunodeficiency virus, facilitates delivery of DNA, peptides, proteins and virus particles into cells by unknown mechanisms, and has been reported to enhance immunogenicity of several antigens. In the present study, two peptides derived from the N-terminal of HPV16L2 were chosen as model antigens and constructed a series of L2 peptide vaccines by either fusing or mixing with PTD. Subsequently their immunogenicity was evaluated. The results indicated that the L2 peptides fused with PTD show considerably enhanced humoral immunity. In particular, they increased the titer of cross-neutralizing antibodies, while L2 peptides that had only been mixed with PTD induced only small cross-protection responses. Overall, the data suggest that fusion of L2 peptides with PTD significantly enhances their cross-protection and may be a promising strategy for the development of broad-spectrum HPV prophylactic vaccines.
Keywords: L2; cross-protection; human papillomavirus; immunogenicity; protein transduction domain.