Study on the Immunogenicity of Norovirus VP1-Expressing Silkworm Pupae Published in Vaccine
A research article co-authored by Tomoki Sasaki, Senior Manager at KAICO Ltd., has been published in the international scientific journal Vaccine.
In this study, silkworm pupae expressing the major norovirus capsid protein VP1 using the silkworm-baculovirus expression vector system were evaluated as an oral vaccine candidate without antigen purification.
In mice, oral administration of GII.4 VP1-expressing silkworm pupae induced antigen-specific serum IgG and intestinal IgA responses. Furthermore, free-feeding of freeze-dried whole VP1-expressing pupae induced both systemic and mucosal antibody responses, with the resulting antibodies exhibiting neutralizing activity against norovirus. Similar antibody responses and neutralizing activity were also observed with GII.17 VP1-expressing pupae.
These findings demonstrate the potential of silkworm pupae not only as bioreactors for recombinant protein production, but also as an oral delivery vehicle containing the antigen itself, supporting the further development of silkworm-based edible vaccines.
KAICO will continue advancing oral vaccine research and development based on its silkworm-baculovirus expression platform.
Publication
“Immunogenicity of norovirus VP1-expressing silkworm (Bombyx mori) pupae as an edible vaccine candidate”
Journal: Vaccine, Volume 92 (2026), 129108
DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2026.129108