A multi-epitope self-amplifying mRNA SARS-CoV-2 vaccine design using a reverse vaccinology approach

Massive vaccine distribution is a crucial step to prevent the spread of SARS-CoV2 as the causative agent of COVID-19. This research aimed to design the multi-epitope self-amplifying mRNA (saRNA) vaccine from the spike and nucleocapsid proteins of SARS-CoV2.

Commonly distributed constructions class I and II alleles of the Indonesian population were used to determine peptide sequences that trigger this population's high specificity T-cell response. The best vaccine candidate was selected through the analysis of tertiary structure validation and molecular docking of each candidate with TLR-4, TLR-8, HLA-A*24:02, and HLA-DRB1*04:05. The selected multi-epitope vaccine combined with the gene encoding the replication machinery that allows the RNA amplification in the host cell.

Seven B-cell and four T-cell epitopes from the protein target were highly antigenic and conserved, non-allergen, non-toxic, and hydrophilic. Tertiary structure validation then determined the best multi-epitope construction with 269 AA in length containing hBD-2 adjuvant and PADRE. Most residues are predicted to be accessible by solvent and show high population coverage (99,26%). Molecular docking analysis demonstrated a stable and strong binding affinity with immune receptors. A recombinant plasmid as the template for mRNA production was constructed by inserting the multi-epitope DNA and non-structural polyprotein 1-4 gene of VEEV, which encodes the RNA replication complex to the cloning site of pcDNA3.1(+).

In silico, design of self-amplifying mRNA could be a potential COVID-19 vaccine candidate since its ability to be amplified in the host cell can efficiently reduce the intake doses.