Comprehensive immunoinformatics and bioinformatics strategies for designing a multi-epitope based vaccine targeting structural proteins of Nipah virus.

BACKGROUND

Nipah virus (NiV) is characterized by recurring outbreaks and causes severe neurological impact, leading to increased mortality rates. Despite the severity of the disease, there is no proven post-exposure treatment available, emphasizing the critical need for the development of an effective vaccine.

OBJECTIVE

This study was aimed at designing a multi-epitope based vaccine candidate based on an in-silico approach.

METHODS

NiV's Structural proteins were screened for B and T-cell epitopes, assessing characteristics like antigenicity, immunogenicity, allergenicity, and toxicity. Two vaccine constructs (NiV_1 & 2) were designed using different adjuvants (Cholera toxin and Beta-defensin 3) and linkers and their predicted 3D structures were evaluated for interaction with Toll-Like Receptor TLR-3 using docking and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation studies. Finally, The potential expression of the vaccine construct in Escherichia coli (E. coli.) was verified by cloning it into the PET28a (+) vector and immune simulations were undertaken.

RESULTS

The study identified 30 conserved, antigenic, immunogenic, non-allergenic, and non-toxic epitopes with a broad population coverage. Based on the stability of vaccine construct in MD simulations results, NiV_1 was considered for further analysis. In-silico immune simulations of NiV_1 indicated a substantial immunogenic response. Moreover, codon optimization and in-silico cloning validated the expressions of designed vaccine construct NiV_1 in E. coli.

CONCLUSION

The findings indicate that the NiV_1 vaccine construct has the potential to elicit both cellular and humoral immune responses. Additional in vitro and in vivo investigations are required to validate the computational observations.