Bioinformatics analysis of calcium-dependent protein kinase 4 (CDPK4) as Toxoplasma gondii vaccine target

Abstract

Objectives Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii), an obligate intracellular apicomplexan parasite, could affect numerous warm-blooded animals, such as humans. Calcium-dependent protein kinases (CDPKs) are essential Ca2+ signaling mediators and participate in parasite host cell egress, outer membrane motility, invasion, and cell division. Results Several bioinformatics online servers were employed to analyze and predict the important properties of CDPK4 protein. The findings revealed that CDPK4 peptide has 1158 amino acid residues with average molecular weight (MW) of 126.331 KDa. The aliphatic index and GRAVY for this protein were estimated at 66.82 and – 0.650, respectively. The findings revealed that the CDPK4 protein comprised 30.14% and 34.97% alpha-helix, 59.84% and 53.54% random coils, and 10.02% and 11.49% extended strand with SOPMA and GOR4 tools, respectively. Ramachandran plot output showed 87.87%, 8.40%, and 3.73% of amino acid residues in the favored, allowed, and outlier regions, respectively. Also, several potential B and T-cell epitopes were predicted for CDPK4 protein through different bioinformatics tools. Also, antigenicity and allergenicity evaluation demonstrated that this protein has immunogenic and non-allergenic nature. This paper presents a basis for further studies, thereby provides a fundamental basis for the development of an effective vaccine against T. gondii infection.

Mining the Proteome of Toxoplasma Parasites Seeking Vaccine and Diagnostic Candidates

“…It has been indicated that the use of CDPK1, CDPK2 and CDPK3 in the form of attenuated, recombinant and DNA vaccine induced high levels of Th1-associated cytokines, and prolonged survival and decrease brain cysts in vaccinated mice [13][14][15][16][17]. In addition, in silico tools have predicted recently potential immunogenic B-and T-cell epitopes for CDPK4 and CDPK7, pointing out their potential as appropriate vaccine candidates against T. gondii [18,19].…”

Immunoinformatic Analysis of Calcium-Dependent Protein Kinase 7 (CDPK7) Showed Potential Targets for Toxoplasma gondii Vaccine

“…Hence, the discovery and design of an effective vaccine to control and prevent toxoplasmosis is very important, especially in humans and domestic animals. In this regard, various in silico-based studies suggest various antigens as suitable candidates for vaccine design [18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32]. Calcium-dependent protein kinases (CDPKs) are a class of serine/threonine kinases that express in apicomplexans, ciliates, and plants [33].…”