Dual-Antigen-Loaded Hepatitis B Virus Core Antigen Virus-like Particles Stimulate Efficient Immunotherapy Against Melanoma

Tumor cells are rich in antigens, which provide a reliable antigen library for the design of personalized vaccines. However, an effective tumor vaccine vector that can efficiently deliver antigens to lymphoid organs to stimulate strong CD8⁺ cytotoxic T-lymphocyte immune response is still lacking. Here we designed a dual-antigen delivery system based on hepatitis B virus core antigen virus-like particles (HBc VLPs). We first confirmed that different antigen-loaded HBc VLP monomers could be assembled into nanoparticles (hybrid VLPs). Hybrid VLPs could slightly enhance bone marrow-derived dendritic cell maturation in vitro. Strikingly, hybrid VLPs could generate antigen-specific antitumor immunity and innate immunity in vivo which could significantly inhibit tumor growth or metastatic formation in a subcutaneous tumor or lung metastatic tumor model, respectively. Moreover, dual-epitope vaccination generated enhanced T-cell responses that potently inhibited tumor growth and metastatic formation. Together, this study provides a new powerful concept for cancer immunotherapy and suggests a novel design for VLP-based personalized nanomedicine.