Novel chimeric foot-and-mouth disease virus-like particles harboring serotype O VP1 protect guinea pigs against challenge

•In this study, we produced novel chimeric VLPs, which were composed of antigenic VP1 from serotype O and segments of viral capsid proteins from serotype Asia I.•The chimeric VLPs elicited significantly higher FMDV-specific antibody levels in immunized mice than did the inactivated vaccine.•The chimeric VLPs protected guinea pigs from FMDV challenge with an efficacy similar to that of the inactivated vaccine.

Foot-and-mouth disease is a highly contagious, acute viral disease of cloven-hoofed animal species causing severe economic losses worldwide. Among the seven serotypes of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV), serotype O is predominant, but its viral capsid is more acid sensitive than other serotypes, making it more difficult to produce empty serotype O VLPs in the low pH insect hemolymph. Therefore, a novel chimeric virus-like particle (VLP)-based candidate vaccine for serotype O FMDV was developed and characterized in the present study. The chimeric VLPs were composed of antigenic VP1 from serotype O and segments of viral capsid proteins from serotype Asia1. These VLPs elicited significantly higher FMDV-specific antibody levels in immunized mice than did the inactivated vaccine. Furthermore, the chimeric VLPs protected guinea pigs from FMDV challenge with an efficacy similar to that of the inactivated vaccine. These results suggest that chimeric VLPs have the potential for use in vaccines against serotype O FMDV infection.