Immunoinformatics design of a multi-epitope vaccine for Chlamydia trachomatis major outer membrane proteins

Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) remains a significant infectious cause of blindness and sexually transmitted infections worldwide. The objective and novelty of this study lie in using different serovars of CT to design a broad-spectrum multi-epitope vaccine that might confer immunity against different CT infections. As the major outer membrane protein in CT has good immunodominance properties and high conservation and also determines the several serotypes of CT, it is selected as an antibody target in this study. T-cell and B-cell epitopes from serovars A, B, D, E, L1, and L2 were predicted and combined into a single construct by incorporating adjuvants and linkers to enhance immunogenicity and stability. Physicochemical characterization confirmed the constructed vaccine's anti-allergic, immunogenicity, and thermostable characteristics, followed by structural modeling to refine its 3D configuration. The 3D model structure of the vaccine was validated through the Ramachandran plot and ProSA z-score. Molecular docking studies of the vaccine demonstrated stable binding with toll-like receptor 3, along with molecular dynamics simulations and binding free energy calculations supporting the complex's stability. In silico cloning has indicated a high potential for expression in Escherichia coli. Lastly, immune simulations revealed robust activation of B cells, cytotoxic T cells, and antigen-presenting cells, alongside significant production of IgM, IgG antibodies, and balanced Th1/Th2 cytokine response, which is crucial for effective immunity. These results suggest the multi-epitope vaccine could effectively induce comprehensive immune responses against CT, highlighting the need for further in vivo validation to advance this promising candidate toward clinical use.