Data from: Plant-produced viral nanoparticles decorated with nanobodies against HER2 improve retention and recruitment of immune cells in solid tumors

Potato virus X (PVX), a filamentous, positive-sense RNA plant virus, has
been engineered into a molecular tool for diverse biotechnological
applications, including cancer cell targeting. Here, we present the
production and functional characterization of genetically-encoded
PVX-derived nanoparticles decorated with nanobodies targeting two common
receptors in human cancer cells, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)
and human epidermal growth factor 2 (HER2). We first generated a series of
PVX-derived nanoparticles displaying distinct nanobodies against EGFR and
HER2 in Nicotiana benthamiana plants. Self-assembly and structural
integrity of the recombinant nanoparticles were confirmed by immunogold
electron microscopy. We next characterized in vitro the cancer-cell
binding capacity of the different recombinant viral nanoparticles (VNPs)
by flow cytometry and confocal microscopy. Best performing VNPs were
further assayed in vivo using tumor-bearing mice. Results showed that
nanobody decoration can increase retention time and myeloid cell
recruitment in the tumor microenvironment in HER2+ mouse tumor models in
vivo. In conclusion, nanobody-displaying PVX-derived nanoparticles may
constitute a new promising plant-produced biotechnological product for
cancer immunotherapy.