Figure 2.

Comparing current L1 HPV vaccines with potential future L2 vaccines consisting of a self-assembling peptide platform. Top section shows an HPV capsid consisting of L1 (purple) and L2 (pink) proteins. The L1 proteins self-assemble into VLPs that are used in current HPV vaccines seen on the left blue side. Positive attributes to the current vaccines include strong and long-lasting antibodies against common HPV types; however, these antibodies are specific to the nine different L1 VLPs used. The green side showcases how a peptide platform vaccine would work with an L2 antigen. The bottom right shows a self-assembling peptide and how many of these peptides can self-assemble with anti-parallel stacking. These β-sheet fibrils present the L2 antigen in a multivalent display. Peptide platforms are highly thermostable compared to their VLP counterpart and the antibodies elicited may be broader, offering more coverage.