abstract |
Vaccines are provided that elicit neutralizing antibodies to Epstein- Barr virus (EBV). Some vaccines comprise nanoparticles that display envelope proteins from EBV on their surface. The nanoparticles comprise fusion proteins comprising a monomeric subunit of a self- assembly protein, such as ferritin, joined to at least a portion of an EBV envelope protein. The fusion proteins self-assemble to form the envelope protein-displaying nanoparticles. Such vaccines can be used to vaccinate an individual against infection by different types of Epstein-Barr viruses as well as Epstein-Barr viruses that are antigenically divergent from the virus from which the EBV envelope protein was obtained. Also provided are fusion proteins and nucleic acid molecules encoding such proteins. |