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Published on: December 23, 2020
Immunoinformatics-Based Identification of B and T Cell Epitopes in RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase of SARS-CoV-2
Shabir Ahmad Mir1, Mohammed Alaidarous1,2, Bader Alshehri1
1Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Science, Majmaah University, Al Majmaah 11952, Saudi Arabia.
Insights
This study designed a novel multi-epitope vaccine against COVID-19 using immunoinformatics. The in silico results show a promising vaccine candidate with high antigenicity and immunogenic potential for further development.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Vaccinology
- Bioinformatics
Background:
- Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) remains a global health threat.
- Despite widespread vaccination, there's a need for improved vaccines and therapeutics.
- The RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) of SARS-CoV-2 is a key target for vaccine development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify B and T cell epitopes from the SARS-CoV-2 RdRp protein.
- To design a multi-epitope vaccine construct using identified epitopes.
- To evaluate the vaccine construct's properties and immunogenic potential in silico.
Main Methods:
- Screening of SARS-CoV-2 RdRp amino acid sequence for epitopes using immunoinformatic tools.
- Designing a multi-epitope vaccine construct by linking potent B and T cell epitopes.
- Assessing vaccine construct stability, antigenicity, and molecular interactions using bioinformatic tools.
Main Results:
- Identification of 3 B cell, 18 cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL), and 10 helper T lymphocyte (HTL) epitopes.
- Epitopes confirmed as non-toxic, non-allergenic, and highly antigenic.
- In silico simulations demonstrated stable interactions with TLR3 and a substantial immunogenic response.
Conclusions:
- The designed multi-epitope vaccine construct shows potential as a novel peptide-based COVID-19 vaccine.
- The vaccine possesses high-scoring B and T cell epitopes and significant antigenicity.
- Further in vitro and in vivo studies are required to validate these in silico findings.
Introduction:
The ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which emerged in December 2019, is a serious health concern throughout the world. Despite massive COVID-19 vaccination on a global scale, there is a rising need to develop more effective vaccines and drugs to curb the spread of coronavirus.
Methodology:
In this study, we screened the amino acid sequence of the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) of SARS-CoV-2 (the causative agent of COVID-19) for the identification of B and T cell epitopes using various immunoinformatic tools. These identified potent B and T cell epitopes with high antigenicity scores were linked together to design the multi-epitope vaccine construct. The physicochemical properties, overall quality, and stability of the designed vaccine construct were confirmed by suitable bioinformatic tools.
Results:
After proper in silico prediction and screening, we identified 3 B cell, 18 CTL, and 10 HTL epitopes from the RdRp protein sequence. The screened epitopes were non-toxic, non-allergenic, and highly antigenic in nature as revealed by appropriate servers. Molecular docking revealed stable interactions of the designed multi-epitope vaccine with human TLR3. Moreover, in silico immune simulations showed a substantial immunogenic response of the designed vaccine.
Conclusions:
These findings suggest that our designed multi-epitope vaccine possessing intrinsic T cell and B cell epitopes with high antigenicity scores could be considered for the ongoing development of peptide-based novel vaccines against COVID-19. However, further in vitro and in vivo studies need to be performed to confirm our in silico observations.
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