Applications:As demonstrated in vitro and in vivo results, HPV VLPs, preferably chimeric HPV L1/L2 VLPs, are useful for facilitating delivery and expression of plasmid DNA to antigen presenting cells, and for enhanced induction of immune responses against co-administered plasmid DNA-based immunogens. Results also demonstrate enhanced immune response to infectious diseases other than HPV. HPV chimeric VLPs have been evaluated for immunotherapy against HPV disease with only modest results. DNA immunization has demonstrated more promising, but still modest results.Advantages:Here we show that cVLPs consisting of the L 1 major capsid protein and the N-terminal region of the L2 minor capsid protein fused with a pathogen-specific peptide can be used to deliver a plasmid DNA construct that contains the nucleic acid sequence of the pathogen-specific peptide, to deliver a synergistic effect on induction of pathogen-specific peptide-specific cellular immune responses over and above what is usually obtained with either the cVLPs or the plasmid DNA construct alone.