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Mining of Marburg Virus Proteome for Designing an Epitope-Based Vaccine
Mohamed A Soltan1, Waleed K Abdulsahib2, Mahmoud Amer3
1Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Sinai University, Ismailia, Egypt.
Abstract:
Marburg virus (MARV) is one of the most harmful zoonotic viruses with deadly effects on both humans and nonhuman primates. Because of its severe outbreaks with a high rate of fatality, the world health organization put it as a risk group 4 pathogen and focused on the urgent need for the development of effective solutions against that virus. However, up to date, there is no effective vaccine against MARV in the market. In the current study, the complete proteome of MARV (seven proteins) was analyzed for the antigenicity score and the virulence or physiological role of each protein where we nominated envelope glycoprotein (Gp), Transcriptional activator (VP30), and membrane-associated protein (VP24) as the candidates for epitope prediction. Following that, a vaccine construct was designed based on CTL, HTL, and BCL epitopes of the selected protein candidates and to finalize the vaccine construct, several amino acid linkers, β-defensin adjuvant, and PADRE peptides were incorporated. The generated potential vaccine was assessed computationally for several properties such as antigenicity, allergenicity, stability, and other structural features where the outcomes of these assessments nominated this potential vaccine to be validated for its binding affinity with two molecular targets TLR-8 and TLR-4. The binding score and the stability of the vaccine-receptor complex, which was deeply studied through molecular docking-coupled dynamics simulation, supported the selection of our designed vaccine as a putative solution for MARV that should be validated through future wet-lab experiments. Here, we describe the computational approach for designing and analysis of this potential vaccine.
Insights
Researchers computationally designed a novel vaccine against Marburg virus (MARV), a deadly pathogen. The vaccine targets key MARV proteins and shows promise for future development against this high-risk virus.
Area of Science:
- Virology
- Immunology
- Vaccine Development
Background:
- Marburg virus (MARV) is a highly pathogenic zoonotic virus causing severe outbreaks with high fatality rates.
- MARV is classified as a Risk Group 4 pathogen, highlighting the urgent need for effective vaccines.
- Currently, no approved vaccines are available for Marburg virus disease.
Purpose of the Study:
- To computationally design and analyze a potential multi-epitope subunit vaccine against Marburg virus.
- To identify potential MARV proteins suitable for epitope-based vaccine development.
- To evaluate the computational properties and binding affinities of the designed vaccine construct.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of the complete Marburg virus proteome to identify antigenicity and virulence of individual proteins.
- Selection of envelope glycoprotein (Gp), Transcriptional activator (VP30), and membrane-associated protein (VP24) for epitope prediction.
- Design of a vaccine construct incorporating CTL, HTL, and BCL epitopes, amino acid linkers, β-defensin adjuvant, and PADRE peptides.
- Computational assessment of vaccine properties including antigenicity, allergenicity, and stability.
- Molecular docking and dynamics simulations to evaluate binding affinity with TLR-4 and TLR-8.
Main Results:
- Envelope glycoprotein (Gp), VP30, and VP24 were identified as promising candidates for epitope-based vaccine design.
- A multi-epitope vaccine construct was successfully designed and computationally evaluated.
- The designed vaccine exhibited favorable antigenicity, stability, and low allergenicity.
- Molecular docking and dynamics simulations indicated strong binding affinity with Toll-like receptors TLR-4 and TLR-8.
Conclusions:
- The in silico designed vaccine construct holds potential as a therapeutic solution against Marburg virus.
- Further validation through wet-lab experiments is recommended to confirm the efficacy and safety of this putative vaccine.
- This study provides a computational framework for the development of novel Marburg virus vaccines.
