Scoping review of the applications of peptide microarrays on the fight against human infections

Abstract

Introduction This scoping review explores the use of peptide microarrays in the fight against infectious diseases. The research domains explored included the use of peptide microarrays in the mapping of linear B-cell and T cell epitopes, antimicrobial peptide discovery, immunosignature characterisation and disease immunodiagnostics. This review also provides a short overview of peptide microarray synthesis. Methods Electronic databases were systematically searched to identify relevant studies. The review was conducted using the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology for scoping reviews and data charting was performed using a predefined form. The results were reported by narrative synthesis in line with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews guidelines. Results Eighty-six articles from 100 studies were included in the final data charting process. The majority (93%) of the articles were published during 2010–2020 and were mostly from Europe (44%) and North America (34 %). The findings were from the investigation of viral (44%), bacterial (30%), parasitic (25%) and fungal (2%) infections. Out of the serological studies, IgG was the most reported antibody type followed by IgM. The largest portion of the studies (78%) were related to mapping B-cell linear epitopes, 10% were on diagnostics, 9% reported on immunosignature characterisation and 6% reported on viral and bacterial cell binding assays. Two studies reported on T-cell epitope profiling. Conclusion The most important application of peptide microarrays was found to be B-cell epitope mapping or antibody profiling to identify diagnostic and vaccine targets. Immunosignatures identified by random peptide microarrays were found to be applied in the diagnosis of infections and interrogation of vaccine responses. The analysis of the interactions of random peptide microarrays with bacterial and viral cells using binding assays enabled the identification of antimicrobial peptides. Peptide microarray arrays were also used for T-cell linear epitope mapping which may provide more information for the design of peptide-based vaccines and for the development of diagnostic reagents.

Peptide microarray analysis of in-silico predicted B-cell epitopes in SARS-CoV-2 sero-positive healthcare workers in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe

“…We previously reported that six methods can be used for the identification and prediction of linear B-cell epitopes (peptides) ( Vengesai et al, 2022 Jan ). For comprehensive mapping of B-cell epitopes, experimental techniques including overlapping peptides and phage display library are time consuming and expensive even for SARS-CoV-2 which has relatively few genes ( Vengesai et al, 2021 Mar 4 ).…”

“…We previously reported that six methods can be used for the identification and prediction of linear B-cell epitopes (peptides) ( Vengesai et al, 2022 Jan ). For comprehensive mapping of B-cell epitopes, experimental techniques including overlapping peptides and phage display library are time consuming and expensive even for SARS-CoV-2 which has relatively few genes ( Vengesai et al, 2021 Mar 4 ). In contrast, in-silico B-cell epitope prediction bioinformatics techniques are manageable alternatives that allow for virtual cost-effective screening in the search for immuno-dominant epitopes with serological diagnostic potential ( Van Regenmortel, 1989 , 24 , Giacò et al, 2012 Jul 25 ).…”

“…Several in-silico B-cell epitope prediction bioinformatics databases ( Table 1 ) are available, in which computational strategies guide the selection of candidate epitopes for peptide microarray technology validation ( Vengesai et al, 2022 Jan ). For identification of effective vaccine candidates against SARS-CoV-2, Kumar et al ,(2021) used various software and online bioinformatics tools including ABCpred, to predict B cell epitopes ( Jena et al, 2021 Jan 23 ).…”