Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 14, 2025
Production of E. coli-expressed Self-Assembling Protein Nanoparticles for Vaccines Requiring Trimeric Epitope Presentation
Published on: August 21, 2019
Developing a multiepitope vaccine for the prevention of SARS-CoV-2 and monkeypox virus co-infection: A reverse
Fan Jiang1, Yinping Liu2, Yong Xue2
1Tuberculosis Prevention and Control Key Laboratory/Beijing Key Laboratory of New Techniques of Tuberculosis Diagnosis and Treatment, Senior Department of Tuberculosis, The 8th Medical Center of PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China; The Second Brigade of Cadet, Basic Medical Science Academy of Air Force Medical University, Xi'an, China; Department of Infectious Diseases, Tangdu Hospital, Air Force Medical University, Xi'an, China.
Background:
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and monkeypox virus (MPXV) severely threaten human health; however, currently, no vaccine can prevent a co-infection with both viruses.
Methods:
Five antigens were selected to predict dominant T and B cell epitopes screened for immunogenicity, antigenicity, toxicity, and sensitization. After screening, all antigens joined in the construction of a novel multiepitope vaccine. The physicochemical and immunological characteristics, and secondary and tertiary structures of the vaccine were predicted and analyzed using bio- and immunoinformatics. Finally, codon optimization and cloning in-silico were performed.
Results:
A new multiepitope vaccine, named S7M8, was constructed based on four helper T lymphocyte (HTL) epitopes, six cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) epitopes, five B cell epitopes, as well as Toll-like receptor (TLR) agonists. The antigenicity and immunogenicity scores of the S7M8 vaccine were 0.907374 and 0.6552, respectively. The S7M8 vaccine was comprised of 26.96% α-helices, the optimized Z-value of the tertiary structure was -5.92, and the favored area after majorization in the Ramachandran plot was 84.54%. Molecular docking showed that the S7M8 vaccine could tightly bind to TLR2 (-1100.6 kcal/mol) and TLR4 (-950.3 kcal/mol). In addition, the immune stimulation prediction indicated that the S7M8 vaccine could activate T and B lymphocytes to produce high levels of Th1 cytokines and antibodies.
Conclusion:
S7M8 is a promising biomarker with good antigenicity, immunogenicity, non-toxicity, and non-sensitization. The S7M8 vaccine can trigger significantly high levels of Th1 cytokines and antibodies and may be a potentially powerful tool in preventing SARS-CoV-2 and MPXV.
Insights
A novel multiepitope vaccine, S7M8, was developed to target both SARS-CoV-2 and monkeypox virus co-infections. This vaccine shows promising antigenicity and immunogenicity, potentially offering a new preventative tool.
Area of Science:
- * Vaccinology and Bioinformatics
- * Infectious Disease Research
- * Immunoinformatics
Background:
- * Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and monkeypox virus (MPXV) pose significant global health threats.
- * Currently, no vaccine exists to prevent co-infections with both SARS-CoV-2 and MPXV.
Purpose of the Study:
- * To design and computationally evaluate a novel multiepitope vaccine for preventing SARS-CoV-2 and MPXV co-infections.
- * To predict and analyze the immunogenic, antigenic, and structural properties of the designed vaccine.
Main Methods:
- * Selection and screening of five antigens for dominant T and B cell epitopes based on immunogenicity, antigenicity, toxicity, and sensitization.
- * Construction of a multiepitope vaccine (S7M8) incorporating selected epitopes and Toll-like receptor (TLR) agonists.
- * In-silico analysis of physicochemical properties, immunological characteristics, secondary/tertiary structures, and molecular docking with TLRs.
Main Results:
- * The S7M8 vaccine was constructed with four helper T lymphocyte (HTL), six cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL), and five B cell epitopes, plus TLR agonists.
- * S7M8 demonstrated high antigenicity (0.907) and immunogenicity (0.655), with favorable structural properties and strong binding affinity to TLR2 and TLR4.
- * In-silico predictions indicated S7M8 can activate T and B lymphocytes, promoting Th1 cytokine and antibody production.
Conclusions:
- * The S7M8 vaccine exhibits excellent antigenicity, immunogenicity, and safety profiles (non-toxic, non-sensitizing).
- * S7M8 has the potential to induce robust Th1 immune responses and antibodies.
- * This novel multiepitope vaccine represents a promising candidate for preventing SARS-CoV-2 and MPXV co-infections.
