One action and multiple results: Influenza A virus and SARS-CoV-2 poly-epitope-based hybrid vaccine exploration by reverse vaccinology and immunoinformatic methods.

INTRODUCTION: Influenza A virus (IAV) and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) coinfection have been shown to intensify symptoms and, therefore, could be considered a significant threat to susceptible populations. Although vaccination is an effective and safe strategy to be used against viruses, large amounts of mutations in these two viruses remain an issue for vaccine design, as some strains of the IAV and SARS-CoV-2 are still present worldwide, regardless of the introduction of various vaccines to protect against the viruses.

METHODS: We employed a bioinformatic approach to design a hybrid vaccine based on the epitopes of IAV and SARS-CoV-2, which are potentially conserved against mutations and are safe in terms of toxicity and allergenicity, yet promise to induce long-lasting innate and adaptive immune responses.

RESULTS: The selected peptides demonstrated a potentially effective immune response and showed promise as safe and suitable for hybrid vaccine design. We selected epitopes focusing on their binding quality to cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL), helper T lymphocyte (HTL), and B cell. For instance, CTL's epitopes were checked using sequence-based prediction methods, and their entropy and antigenicity were confirmed. Similarly, all epitopes were selected based on their ability to induce robust humoral and cell-mediated immunity, respectively.

CONCLUSION: Hybrid vaccine design, utilizing our approach, can lead to next-generation hybrid vaccines that help the healthcare system establish a more consistent defense against both viruses for the susceptible population.