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Updated: Apr 7, 2026
Peptide Scanning-assisted Identification of a Monoclonal Antibody-recognized Linear B-cell Epitope
Published on: March 24, 2017
EMoMiS: A pipeline for epitope-based molecular mimicry search in protein structures with potential applications to
Vitalii Stebliankin1, Rajeshwari Chellappan2, Prabin Baral3
1Bioinformatics Research Group (BioRG), Knight Foundation School of Computing and Information Sciences, Florida International University, Miami, USA.
Abstract:
The Epitope-based Molecular Mimicry Search (EMoMiS) pipeline developed in this study provides a valuable computational tool for predicting molecular mimicry between antigens. The novelty of the tool includes a prediction of antibody cross-reactivity, which can have beneficial or detrimental effects on the immune system. The developed pipeline can be seen as a tool for pandemic preparedness. First, EMoMiS can predict if antibodies produced by exposure to prior viruses can cross-react with a newly emerged pathogen, resulting in cross-protection. On the other hand, EMoMiS can suggest if molecular mimicry between a pathogen and human proteins can lead to autoimmune disorders, such that early preventive therapeutics strategies can be developed. After we first verified that EMoMiS could predict previously documented cross-reactivity between antibodies for the Zika virus with Dengue, the pipeline predicted examples of molecular mimicry between Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Spike and other proteins, including thrombopoietin (TPO), a hormone that regulates systemic platelet concentrations. The study provides experimental support for the predicted molecular mimicry by showing increased TPO co-localization with platelets, complement-fixing IgM antibodies, and C3d in lung tissue sections from SARS-CoV-2 patients.
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