Multi epitope vaccine candidate design against Streptococcus pneumonia
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Published on: December 19, 2020
Yogeshwar Devarakonda1, M V N Janaradhan Reddy1, R S Neethu1
1Department of Biological Sciences, Center for Genetics and Molecular Microbiology, Institute of Eminence, Birla Institute of Technology and Sciences-Pilani, Hyderabad, India.
Insights
This study proposes a novel multi-epitope subunit vaccine for Streptococcus pneumoniae using immunoinformatics. The designed vaccine shows potential for activating immune responses against pneumococcal diseases.
Area of Science:
- Computational vaccinology
- Immunoinformatics
- Molecular biology
Background:
- Streptococcus pneumoniae causes severe invasive diseases like sepsis, meningitis, and pneumonia globally.
- Current vaccines have limited serotype coverage, and emerging non-vaccine serotypes pose a significant threat.
- There is a need for advanced vaccine strategies to combat S. pneumoniae infections.
Purpose of the Study:
- To design a multi-epitope subunit vaccine against Streptococcus pneumoniae using advanced immunoinformatics tools.
- To identify and utilize key surface antigenic proteins (Ply, PsaA, PspA, PspK) for vaccine development.
- To predict and incorporate B-cell and T-cell epitopes to enhance immunogenicity.
Main Methods:
- Utilized immunoinformatics tools (NetCTL 1.2, IEDB, ABCpred) to predict B-cell and T-cell epitopes from S. pneumoniae surface proteins.
- Constructed a multi-epitope vaccine sequence, incorporating an adjuvant (griselimycin) to boost immunogenicity.
- Evaluated vaccine construct properties (antigenicity, allergenicity, toxicity, physicochemical) and validated its 3D structure using bioinformatic tools.
- Performed molecular docking of the vaccine structure with Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR-4) using ClusPro 2.0.
Main Results:
- Successfully designed a multi-epitope vaccine construct targeting key S. pneumoniae antigens.
- Predicted B-cell and T-cell epitopes and incorporated an adjuvant for enhanced immune response.
- Bioinformatic analysis confirmed favorable physicochemical properties and validated the 3D structure.
- Docking studies indicated potential interaction with TLR-4, suggesting immune activation pathways.
Conclusions:
- The proposed multi-epitope vaccine design shows potential for activating both humoral and cellular immunity against S. pneumoniae.
- This computational approach offers a promising vaccine candidate requiring further experimental validation for safety and immunogenicity.
- The study highlights the utility of immunoinformatics in developing next-generation vaccines against challenging pathogens.
Abstract:
Streptococcus pneumonia, the causative agent of sepsis, meningitis and pneumonia, is held responsible for causing invasive diseases predominantly in children along with adults from both developing and developed countries. The available vaccines coverage in the context of different serotypes is limited and emergence of non-vaccine serotypes could further emerge as a threat in future. Advanced immunoinformatics tools have been used for developing a multi epitope subunit vaccine. In the current study we have subjected these four surface antigenic proteins Ply, PsaA, PspA and PspK to construct vaccine designs. We have predicted different B-cell and T-cell epitopes by using NetCTL 1.2, IEDB (Immune Epitope Databases) and ABCpred. An adjuvant (griselimycin) has been added to the vaccine construct sequence in order to improve its immunogenicity. The vaccine construct has been evaluated for its antigenicity, allergenicity, toxicity and different physio-chemical properties. The bioinformatic tools have been used for prediction, refinement and validation of the 3 D structure. Further, the vaccine structure has been docked with a toll-like receptor (TLR-4) by ClusPro 2.0. In conclusion, the proposed multi-epitope vaccine designs could potentially activate both humoral and cellular immune responses and has a potential to be a vaccine candidate against S.pneumoniae, and requires experimental validation for ensuring immunogenicity and safety profile.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
