A novel immunoinformatic approach for design and evaluation of heptavalent multiepitope foot-and-mouth disease virus vaccine

Abstract Background Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) vaccine development can be a laborious task due to the existence of various serotypes and lineages and its quasi-species nature. Immunoinformatics provide effective and promising avenue for the development of multiepitope vaccines against such...

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Main Authors: Mostafa R. Zaher, Mohamed H. El-Husseiny, Naglaa M. Hagag, Azza M. El-Amir, Mohamed E. El Zowalaty, Reham H. Tammam
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-03-01
Series:BMC Veterinary Research
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12917-025-04509-1
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author Mostafa R. Zaher
Mohamed H. El-Husseiny
Naglaa M. Hagag
Azza M. El-Amir
Mohamed E. El Zowalaty
Reham H. Tammam
author_facet Mostafa R. Zaher
Mohamed H. El-Husseiny
Naglaa M. Hagag
Azza M. El-Amir
Mohamed E. El Zowalaty
Reham H. Tammam
author_sort Mostafa R. Zaher
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) vaccine development can be a laborious task due to the existence of various serotypes and lineages and its quasi-species nature. Immunoinformatics provide effective and promising avenue for the development of multiepitope vaccines against such complex pathogens. In this study, we developed an immunoinformatic pipeline to design a heptavalent multi-epitope vaccine targeting circulating FMDV isolates in Egypt. Result B and T-cell epitopes were predicted and selected epitopes were proved to be non-allergenic, non-toxic, with high antigenicity, and able to induce interferon-gamma response. The epitopes were used to construct a vaccine by adding suitable linkers and adjuvant. Prediction, refinement, and validation of the final construct proved its stability and solubility, having a theoretical isoelectric point (PI) of 9.4 and a molecular weight of 75.49 kDa. The final construct was evaluated for its interaction with bovine toll-like receptor (TLR) 2 and 4 using molecular docking analysis and molecular dynamic simulation showed high binding affinity, especially toward TLR4. MM/GBSA energy calculation supported these findings, confirming favorable energetics of the interaction. Finally, the DNA sequence of the vaccine was cloned in pET-30a (+) for efficient expression in Escherichia coli. Conclusion The inclusion of computational and immunoinformatic approaches will ensure cost-effectiveness and rapid design of FMDV vaccine, decrease wet lab experimentation, and aid the selection of novel FMDV vaccines. While the vaccine demonstrates promising in-silico results, experimental assessment of vaccine efficiency is required.
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spelling doaj-art-a73dd7fe9f9946ee97707f4284c2bcc12025-08-20T02:59:57ZengBMCBMC Veterinary Research1746-61482025-03-0121112010.1186/s12917-025-04509-1A novel immunoinformatic approach for design and evaluation of heptavalent multiepitope foot-and-mouth disease virus vaccineMostafa R. Zaher0Mohamed H. El-Husseiny1Naglaa M. Hagag2Azza M. El-Amir3Mohamed E. El Zowalaty4Reham H. Tammam5Genome Research Unit, Animal Health Research Institute, Agriculture Research Center (ARC)Reference Laboratory for Veterinary Quality Control on Poultry Production, Animal Health Research Institute, Agriculture Research Center (ARC)Genome Research Unit, Animal Health Research Institute, Agriculture Research Center (ARC)Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science, Cairo UniversityDepartment of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ahram Canadian UniversityDepartment of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Cairo UniversityAbstract Background Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) vaccine development can be a laborious task due to the existence of various serotypes and lineages and its quasi-species nature. Immunoinformatics provide effective and promising avenue for the development of multiepitope vaccines against such complex pathogens. In this study, we developed an immunoinformatic pipeline to design a heptavalent multi-epitope vaccine targeting circulating FMDV isolates in Egypt. Result B and T-cell epitopes were predicted and selected epitopes were proved to be non-allergenic, non-toxic, with high antigenicity, and able to induce interferon-gamma response. The epitopes were used to construct a vaccine by adding suitable linkers and adjuvant. Prediction, refinement, and validation of the final construct proved its stability and solubility, having a theoretical isoelectric point (PI) of 9.4 and a molecular weight of 75.49 kDa. The final construct was evaluated for its interaction with bovine toll-like receptor (TLR) 2 and 4 using molecular docking analysis and molecular dynamic simulation showed high binding affinity, especially toward TLR4. MM/GBSA energy calculation supported these findings, confirming favorable energetics of the interaction. Finally, the DNA sequence of the vaccine was cloned in pET-30a (+) for efficient expression in Escherichia coli. Conclusion The inclusion of computational and immunoinformatic approaches will ensure cost-effectiveness and rapid design of FMDV vaccine, decrease wet lab experimentation, and aid the selection of novel FMDV vaccines. While the vaccine demonstrates promising in-silico results, experimental assessment of vaccine efficiency is required.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12917-025-04509-1ImmunoinformaticsMultiepitopeVaccineFMDVMolecular dockingMolecular dynamics
spellingShingle Mostafa R. Zaher
Mohamed H. El-Husseiny
Naglaa M. Hagag
Azza M. El-Amir
Mohamed E. El Zowalaty
Reham H. Tammam
A novel immunoinformatic approach for design and evaluation of heptavalent multiepitope foot-and-mouth disease virus vaccine
BMC Veterinary Research
Immunoinformatics
Multiepitope
Vaccine
FMDV
Molecular docking
Molecular dynamics
title A novel immunoinformatic approach for design and evaluation of heptavalent multiepitope foot-and-mouth disease virus vaccine
title_full A novel immunoinformatic approach for design and evaluation of heptavalent multiepitope foot-and-mouth disease virus vaccine
title_fullStr A novel immunoinformatic approach for design and evaluation of heptavalent multiepitope foot-and-mouth disease virus vaccine
title_full_unstemmed A novel immunoinformatic approach for design and evaluation of heptavalent multiepitope foot-and-mouth disease virus vaccine
title_short A novel immunoinformatic approach for design and evaluation of heptavalent multiepitope foot-and-mouth disease virus vaccine
title_sort novel immunoinformatic approach for design and evaluation of heptavalent multiepitope foot and mouth disease virus vaccine
topic Immunoinformatics
Multiepitope
Vaccine
FMDV
Molecular docking
Molecular dynamics
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12917-025-04509-1
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