Immunoinformatic approach to the design of a novel multi-epitope vaccine against Leishmania major fused to human IgG-Fc

Background and purpose: Cutaneous leishmaniasis poses significant health and socioeconomic challenges, making vaccine development a top priority, especially in endemic regions. Cysteine proteases, KMP-11, and HASPB proteins are promising candidates for leishmaniasis vaccine development owing to thei...

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Main Authors: Mahmood Fadaie, Zabihollah Shahmoradi, Hossein Khanahmad
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2024-12-01
Series:Research in Pharmaceutical Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/RPS.RPS_145_24
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author Mahmood Fadaie
Zabihollah Shahmoradi
Hossein Khanahmad
author_facet Mahmood Fadaie
Zabihollah Shahmoradi
Hossein Khanahmad
author_sort Mahmood Fadaie
collection DOAJ
description Background and purpose: Cutaneous leishmaniasis poses significant health and socioeconomic challenges, making vaccine development a top priority, especially in endemic regions. Cysteine proteases, KMP-11, and HASPB proteins are promising candidates for leishmaniasis vaccine development owing to their immunogenic properties and capacity to provoke robust immune responses, as evidenced by different investigations. This study aimed to design a recombinant chimeric protein (MEV-Fc) vaccine using multi-epitopes from these Leishmania major proteins. Experimental approach: The antigens were subjected to immunoinformatic prediction and screening of HTL, CTL, and B-cell epitopes. The multi-epitope protein was designed with significantly high-scoring epitopes and suitable linkers. Natural adjuvants were then added to enhance immunogenicity. Vaccine potency was innovatively improved by covalently fusing human IgG1 Fc with multi-epitope protein. To investigate how the MEV-Fc vaccine interacts with Toll-like receptors, molecular docking, multi-scale normal mode analysis simulation, and computational immune simulation were employed to study humoral and cellular immune responses. Findings/Results: The results demonstrated the vaccine’s antigenicity, stability, and nontoxicity. The structural validation confirmed the accuracy of the 3D models, indicating robust interactions with TLR2 and TLR4, with binding free energies of -1269.9 and -1128.7 (kcal/mol), respectively. Immune simulation results showed significant increases in IgM and IgG antibody levels following three vaccinations, along with enhanced activation of B cells, helper T cells, and cytotoxic T lymphocytes. Conclusion and implications: These findings provide novel insights for developing effective candidates for cutaneous leishmaniasis vaccines. However, laboratory experiments are necessary to evaluate its protective effects.
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spelling doaj-art-18e2287c24fe4e458737c402cab0ecc22025-01-07T09:56:57ZengWolters Kluwer Medknow PublicationsResearch in Pharmaceutical Sciences1735-53621735-94142024-12-0119672974510.4103/RPS.RPS_145_24Immunoinformatic approach to the design of a novel multi-epitope vaccine against Leishmania major fused to human IgG-FcMahmood FadaieZabihollah ShahmoradiHossein KhanahmadBackground and purpose: Cutaneous leishmaniasis poses significant health and socioeconomic challenges, making vaccine development a top priority, especially in endemic regions. Cysteine proteases, KMP-11, and HASPB proteins are promising candidates for leishmaniasis vaccine development owing to their immunogenic properties and capacity to provoke robust immune responses, as evidenced by different investigations. This study aimed to design a recombinant chimeric protein (MEV-Fc) vaccine using multi-epitopes from these Leishmania major proteins. Experimental approach: The antigens were subjected to immunoinformatic prediction and screening of HTL, CTL, and B-cell epitopes. The multi-epitope protein was designed with significantly high-scoring epitopes and suitable linkers. Natural adjuvants were then added to enhance immunogenicity. Vaccine potency was innovatively improved by covalently fusing human IgG1 Fc with multi-epitope protein. To investigate how the MEV-Fc vaccine interacts with Toll-like receptors, molecular docking, multi-scale normal mode analysis simulation, and computational immune simulation were employed to study humoral and cellular immune responses. Findings/Results: The results demonstrated the vaccine’s antigenicity, stability, and nontoxicity. The structural validation confirmed the accuracy of the 3D models, indicating robust interactions with TLR2 and TLR4, with binding free energies of -1269.9 and -1128.7 (kcal/mol), respectively. Immune simulation results showed significant increases in IgM and IgG antibody levels following three vaccinations, along with enhanced activation of B cells, helper T cells, and cytotoxic T lymphocytes. Conclusion and implications: These findings provide novel insights for developing effective candidates for cutaneous leishmaniasis vaccines. However, laboratory experiments are necessary to evaluate its protective effects.https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/RPS.RPS_145_24adjuvantigg-fcimmunodominant epitopesleishmania majorsubunit vaccine
spellingShingle Mahmood Fadaie
Zabihollah Shahmoradi
Hossein Khanahmad
Immunoinformatic approach to the design of a novel multi-epitope vaccine against Leishmania major fused to human IgG-Fc
Research in Pharmaceutical Sciences
adjuvant
igg-fc
immunodominant epitopes
leishmania major
subunit vaccine
title Immunoinformatic approach to the design of a novel multi-epitope vaccine against Leishmania major fused to human IgG-Fc
title_full Immunoinformatic approach to the design of a novel multi-epitope vaccine against Leishmania major fused to human IgG-Fc
title_fullStr Immunoinformatic approach to the design of a novel multi-epitope vaccine against Leishmania major fused to human IgG-Fc
title_full_unstemmed Immunoinformatic approach to the design of a novel multi-epitope vaccine against Leishmania major fused to human IgG-Fc
title_short Immunoinformatic approach to the design of a novel multi-epitope vaccine against Leishmania major fused to human IgG-Fc
title_sort immunoinformatic approach to the design of a novel multi epitope vaccine against leishmania major fused to human igg fc
topic adjuvant
igg-fc
immunodominant epitopes
leishmania major
subunit vaccine
url https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/RPS.RPS_145_24
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