Immunoinformatics design of a structural proteins driven multi-epitope candidate vaccine against different SARS-CoV-2...

The ideal vaccines for combating diseases that may emerge in the future require more than simply inactivating a few pathogenic strains. This study aims to provide a peptide-based multi-epitope vaccine effective against various severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 strains. To design the vaccine, a library of peptides from the spike, nucleocapsid, membrane, and envelope structural proteins of various strains was prepared. Then, the final vaccine structure was optimized using the fully protected epitopes and the fynomer scaffold. Using bioinformatics tools, the antigenicity, allergenicity, toxicity, physicochemical properties, population coverage, and secondary and three-dimensional structures of the vaccine candidate were evaluated. The bioinformatic analyses confirmed the high quality of the vaccine. According to further investigations, this structure is similar to native protein and there is a stable and strong interaction between vaccine and receptors. Based on molecular dynamics simulation, structural compactness and stability in binding were also observed. In addition, the immune simulation showed that the vaccine can stimulate immune responses similar to real conditions. Finally, codon optimization and in silico cloning confirmed efficient expression in Escherichia coli. In conclusion, the fynomer-based vaccine can be considered as a new style in designing and updating vaccines to protect against coronavirus disease.