In silico design of an epitope-based vaccine against PspC in Streptococcus pneumoniae using reverse vaccinology

Abstract

Background Streptococcus pneumoniae is a major pathogen that poses a significant hazard to global health, causing a variety of infections including pneumonia, meningitis, and sepsis. The emergence of antibiotic-resistant strains has increased the difficulty of conventional antibiotic treatment, highlighting the need for alternative therapies such as multi-epitope vaccines. In this study, immunoinformatics algorithms were used to identify potential vaccine candidates based on the extracellular immunogenic protein Pneumococcal surface protein C (PspC). Method The protein sequence of PspC was retrieved from NCBI for the development of the multi-epitope vaccine (MEV), and potential B cell and T cell epitopes were identified. Linkers including EAAAK, AAY, and CPGPG were used to connect the epitopes. Through molecular docking, molecular dynamics, and immunological simulation, the affinity between MEV and Toll-like receptors was determined. After cloning the MEV construct into the PET28a ( +) vector, SnapGene was used to achieve expression in Escherichia coli. Result The constructed MEV was discovered to be stable, non-allergenic, and antigenic. Microscopic interactions between ligand and receptor are confirmed by molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation. The use of an in-silico cloning approach guarantees the optimal expression and translation efficiency of the vaccine within an expression vector. Conclusion Our study demonstrates the potential of in silico approaches for designing effective multi-epitope vaccines against S. pneumoniae. The designated vaccine exhibits the required physicochemical, structural, and immunological characteristics of a successful vaccine against SPN. However, laboratory validation is required to confirm the safety and immunogenicity of the proposed vaccine design.

AutoEpiCollect, a Novel Machine Learning-Based GUI Software for Vaccine Design: Application to Pan-Cancer Vaccine Design Targeting PIK3CA Neoantigens

“…We tested AutoEpiCollect's pan-cancer vaccine design on common cancers containing prevalent PIK3CA mutations. Previous cancer vaccines targeting the PIK3CA gene primarily target small sets of missense mutations, thus reducing the scope and efficiency of the vaccine [1][2][3][4][5]. Therefore, no clinical trials have been conducted with pan-cancer vaccines targeting the PIK3CA gene.…”

“…The development of these vaccine designs has been steadily increasing due to the ability of vaccines to safely boost the immune system's innate defense mechanisms against a broad number of diseases and pathogens. Some of the latest findings involving in silico vaccine designs include potential methods of protection against different viruses, bacteria, and some single-celled organisms [1][2][3][4][5].…”