{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,5]],"date-time":"2026-03-05T18:13:48Z","timestamp":1772734428749,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":70,"publisher":"Microbiology Society","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,5]],"date-time":"2026-03-05T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1772668800000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100005375","name":"Latvijas Zin\u0101tnes Padome","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["lzp-2021\/1-0059"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["lzp-2021\/1-0059"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100005375","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,5]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                    Virus-like particles (VLPs) based on hepatitis B core antigen (HBc) represent an immunogenic and modular platform for epitope presentation. In this study, the VLPs formed by the modified recombinant hepatitis B core antigen from genotype G (HBc\/G) were used as carriers for the presentation of a receptor-binding motif (RBM) of the Delta variant of Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The RBM was inserted at the C-terminus of the modified HBc\/G extended by the addition of a second, specifically modified C-terminal domain of HBc\/G. All arginine residues in the extra domain were replaced with glycine, resulting in a \u2018two-tailed\u2019 HBc\/G-Gly vector. The resulting HBc\/G-Gly-RBM construct successfully formed regular VLPs in\n                    <jats:italic>Escherichia coli<\/jats:italic>\n                    and elicited specific antibody responses in mice. Despite the moderate immunogenicity of the RBM insert compared with the HBc carrier, sera from RBM-VLP-immunized animals exhibited neutralizing activity against MLV particles pseudotyped with the SARS-CoV-2 Delta spike and showed cross-reactivity with receptor-binding domains from the Wuhan and Omicron variants. To enhance the immune response, a replication-deficient Semliki Forest virus (SFV) vector expressing IL-12 was evaluated alone and in combination with the squalene-based adjuvant AddaVax. The co-administration of SFV-IL12 and AddaVax modestly improved virus neutralization rates and promoted a Th1 response, characterized by increased IgG2a production and IFN-\n                    <jats:italic>\u03b3<\/jats:italic>\n                    secretion. These findings demonstrate the feasibility of combining classical and genetic adjuvants with the HBc-based VLP platform and provide preliminary insights for further optimization toward more potent and protective SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidates.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1099\/jgv.0.002240","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,5]],"date-time":"2026-03-05T17:16:46Z","timestamp":1772731006000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Immunogenicity of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine prototype based on virus-like particles of hepatitis B core antigen from genotype G and interleukin 12 expressing Semliki Forest virus as a genetic adjuvant"],"prefix":"10.1099","volume":"107","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0112-3948","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Andris","family":"Dislers","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Latvian Biomedical Research and Study Centre, LV-1067 Riga, 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