TBSV.pLip

TBSV.pLip is a plant-made virus nanoparticle (VNP) engineered to display the immunodominant Liprin-1 peptide (pLip) on the external surface of the Tomato Bushy Stunt Virus (TBSV) capsid. Developed by Diamante SB (a spin-off of the University of Verona) in collaboration with the University of Verona, TBSV.pLip is designed as an antigen-specific immunotherapy for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The nanoparticles are manufactured in *Nicotiana benthamiana* plants using transient viral expression. By presenting the Liprin-1 peptide in a highly repetitive, multivalent format, TBSV.pLip acts as both a scaffold and an adjuvant to induce antigen-specific immune tolerance. In preclinical models of rheumatoid arthritis, intravenous administration of TBSV.pLip promoted the induction of tolerogenic dendritic cells (CD11c+/PD-L1+) and regulatory T cells (CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ Tregs), leading to a reduction in pro-inflammatory cytokines (such as IL-6, IL-17, IL-1β, and MCP-1) and significant improvement in clinical and histological arthritis scores.

Other names

TBSV.pLip NPsTBSV.pLip nanoparticlesTomato Bushy Stunt Virus-pLip