Vet World   Vol.18   August-2025  Article - 4 

Multivalent display of VP28 on chimeric virus-like particles enhances binding to shrimp target tissues: A novel antiviral strategy against white spot syndrome virus

Somkid Jaranathummakul¹, Pitchanee Jariyapong² , Orawan Thongsum¹, Supawich Boonkua¹, Charoonroj Chotwiwatthanakun³ , Monsicha Somrit¹ , Somluk Asuvapongpatana¹ , Attaboon Wathammawut⁴, and Wattana Weerachatyanukul¹

Background and Aim: White spot syndrome virus (WSSV) is a devastating pathogen in shrimp aquaculture, with viral protein 28 (VP28) playing a critical role in host cell attachment and entry. The extracellular domain of VP28 (residues 35–95) is immunogenic and essential for infection; however, its receptor interaction mechanisms remain incompletely elucidated. This study aimed to evaluate the tissue-binding affinity of full-length VP28 and its derived peptides (P1: Residues 35–65; P2: Residues 66–95) as well as a multimeric chimeric virus-like particle (K5-VLP) displaying VP28 on the surface of Macrobrachium rosenbergii nodavirus capsids to enhance host tissue interaction.

Materials and Methods: Recombinant VP28, synthetic peptides (P1, P2), and chimeric K5-VLP were produced and characterized. Binding and inhibition assays were performed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and immunofluorescence microscopy on shrimp gill, hemocyte, muscle, stomach, and hepatopancreas tissues.

Results: Full-length VP28 exhibited strong binding to gill, hemocyte, and muscle tissues. The P1 and P2 peptides showed moderate binding compared to rVP28. Notably, K5-VLP demonstrated a 1.7-fold higher binding affinity than rVP28 in gill tissues and significantly outperformed P1 and P2 peptides. Inhibition assays confirmed that K5-VLP more effectively interfered with VP28 binding than peptides. Structural analysis and transmission electron microscopy confirmed correct assembly and surface presentation of VP28 on the VLPs.

Conclusion: Multimeric display of VP28 on K5-VLP enhances its binding affinity to shrimp tissues compared to monomeric or peptide forms. This suggests a promising platform for antiviral strategies, including competitive inhibition of WSSV entry and targeted therapeutic delivery in shrimp aquaculture.

Keywords: aquaculture vaccines, Macrobrachium rosenbergii nodavirus, shrimp immunity, tissue binding, virus-like particles, viral protein 28, white spot syndrome virus.

How to cite this article: Jaranathummakul S, Jariyapong P, Thongsum O, Boonkua S, Chotwiwatthanakun C, Somrit M, Asuvapongpatana S, Wathammawut A, and Weerachatyanukul W (2025) Multivalent display of VP28 on chimeric virus-like particles enhances binding to shrimp target tissues: A novel antiviral strategy against white spot syndrome virus, Veterinary World, 18(8): 2194-2205.

Received: 25-03-2025   Accepted: 09-07-2025   Published online: 02-08-2025

Corresponding author: Wattana Weerachatyanukul    E-mail: wattana.wee@mahidol.ac.th

DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2025.2194-2205

Copyright: Jaranathummakul, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.