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Yasmin S, Ansari MY, Pandey K, Dikhit MR. Identification of potential vaccine targets for elicitation of host immune cells against SARS-CoV-2 by reverse vaccinology approach. Int J Biol Macromol 2024; 265:130754. [PMID: 38508555 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.130754] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2023] [Revised: 03/06/2024] [Accepted: 03/07/2024] [Indexed: 03/22/2024]
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has emerged as a critical global health crisis, demanding urgent and effective strategies for containment. While some knowledge exists about epitope sequences recognized by human immune cells and their activation of CD8+ T cells within the HLA context, comprehensive information remains limited. This study employs reverse vaccinology to explore antigenic HLA-restricted T-cell epitopes capable of eliciting durable immunity. Screening reveals 187 consensus epitopes, with 23 offering broad population coverage worldwide, spanning over 5000 HLA alleles. Sequence alignment analysis highlights the genetic distinctiveness of these peptides from Homo sapiens and their intermediate to high TAP binding efficiency. Notably, these epitopes share 100 % sequence identity across strains from nine countries, indicating potential for a uniform protective immune response among diverse ethnic populations. Docking simulations further confirm their binding capacity with the HLA allele, validating them as promising targets for SARS-CoV-2 immune recognition. The anticipated epitopes are connected with suitable linkers and adjuvant, and then assessed for its translational efficacy within a bacterial expression vector through computational cloning. Through docking, it is observed that the chimeric vaccine construct forms lasting hydrogen bonds with Toll-like receptor (TLR4), while immune simulation illustrates an increased cytotoxic response aimed at CD8+ T cells. This comprehensive computational analysis suggests the chimeric vaccine construct's potential to provoke a robust immune response against SARS-CoV-2. By delineating these antigenic fragments, our study offers valuable insights into effective vaccine and immunotherapy development against COVID-19, contributing significantly to global efforts in combating this infectious threat.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabina Yasmin
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, King Khalid University (KKU), Abha 62529, Saudi Arabia
| | - Mohammad Yousuf Ansari
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, M.M. College of Pharmacy, Maharishi Markandeshwar (Deemed to be University), Mullana, Ambala 133207, India.
| | - Krishna Pandey
- Department of Clinical Medicine, ICMR-Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Agamkuan, Patna 800007, India
| | - Manas Ranjan Dikhit
- Department of Bioinformatics, ICMR-Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Agamkuan, Patna 800007, India.
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2
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Dikhit MR, Sen A. Elucidation of conserved multi-epitope vaccine against Leishmania donovani using reverse vaccinology. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2024; 42:1293-1306. [PMID: 37054523 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2023.2201630] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2022] [Accepted: 03/29/2023] [Indexed: 04/15/2023]
Abstract
Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a tropical disease that causes severe public health problems in humans when untreated. As no licensed vaccine exists against VL, we aimed to formulate a potential MHC-restricted chimeric vaccine construct against this dreadful parasitic disease. Amastin-like protein derived from L. donovani is considered to be stable, immunogenic and non-allergic. A comprehensive established framework was used to explore the set of immunogenic epitopes with estimated population coverage of 96.08% worldwide. The rigorous assessment revealed 6 promiscuous T-epitopes which can plausibly be presented by more than 66 diverse HLA alleles. Further docking and simulation study of peptide receptor complexes identified a strong and stable binding interaction with better structural compactness. The predicted epitopes were combined with appropriate linkers and adjuvant molecules and their translation efficiency was evaluated in pET28+(a), an bacterial expression vector using in-silico cloning. Molecular docking followed by MD simulation study revealed a stable interaction between chimeric vaccine construct with TLRs. Immune simulation of the chimeric vaccine constructs showed an elevated Th1 immune response against both B and T epitopes. With this, the detailed computational analysis suggested that the chimeric vaccine construct can evoke a robust immune response against Leishmania donovani infection. Future studies are required to validate the role of amastin as a promising vaccine target.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manas Ranjan Dikhit
- Department of Molecular Biology, ICMR-Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna, India
| | - Abhik Sen
- Department of Molecular Biology, ICMR-Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna, India
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3
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Mishra S, Rout M, Panda S, Singh SK, Sinha R, Dehury B, Pati S. An immunoinformatic approach towards development of a potent and effective multi-epitope vaccine against monkeypox virus (MPXV). J Biomol Struct Dyn 2023; 41:11714-11727. [PMID: 36591724 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2022.2163426] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2022] [Accepted: 12/22/2022] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Monkeypox is a viral zoonotic disease, often transmitted to humans from animals. While the whole world is haggling with the COVID-19 pandemic, the emergence of the monkeypox virus (MPXV) arose as a new challenge to mankind. Till date, numerous cases related to the MPXV have been reported in several countries across the globe, but, its momentary distribution in the current time has left everyone in fright with increasing mortality and limited clinically approved treatments. Therefore, it is of immense importance to develop a potent and highly effective vaccine capable of inducing desired immunogenic responses against the highly contagious MPXV. Herein, using various immunoinformatic and computational biology tools, we made an attempt to develop a multi-epitope vaccine construct against the MPXV which is antigenic, non-allergen and non-toxic in nature and capable of exhibiting immunogenic behavior. The sequence of vaccine construct was designed using the proposed 4 MHC-I, 3 MHC-II and 4 B-cell epitopes linked with suitable adjuvant and linkers. The modeled structure of the vaccine construct was used to assess its interaction with the Toll-like Receptor 4 (TLR4) using ClusPro and HADDOCK. All-atoms molecular dynamics simulation of the MPXV vaccine construct-TLR4 complex followed by a high level of gene expression of the construct within the bacterial system affirmed its stability along with induction of immunogenic response within the host cell. Altogether, our immunoinformatic approach aid in the development of a stable chimeric vaccine construct against MPXV and needs further experimental validation for its immunological relevance and usefulness as a vaccine candidate.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarbani Mishra
- Bioinformatics Division, ICMR-Regional Medical Research Centre, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
| | - Madhusmita Rout
- Bioinformatics Division, ICMR-Regional Medical Research Centre, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
| | - Sunita Panda
- Mycology Laboratory, ICMR-Regional Medical Research Centre, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
| | - Susheel Kumar Singh
- Vaccine and Diagnostic Laboratory, ICMR-Regional Medical Research Centre, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
| | - Rohan Sinha
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, National Institute of Technology Patna, Patna, Bihar, India
| | - Budheswar Dehury
- Bioinformatics Division, ICMR-Regional Medical Research Centre, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
| | - Sanghamitra Pati
- Bioinformatics Division, ICMR-Regional Medical Research Centre, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
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4
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Karim M, Singh G, Thakur S, Rana A, Rub A, Akhter Y. Evaluating complete surface-associated and secretory proteome of Leishmania donovani for discovering novel vaccines and diagnostic targets. Arch Microbiol 2022; 204:604. [PMID: 36069945 DOI: 10.1007/s00203-022-03219-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2021] [Revised: 08/20/2022] [Accepted: 08/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The protozoa Leishmania donovani causes visceral leishmaniasis (kala-azar), the third most common vector-borne disease. The visceral organs, particularly the spleen, liver, and bone marrow, are affected by the disease. The lack of effective treatment regimens makes curing and eradicating the disease difficult. The availability of complete L. donovani genome/proteome data allows for the development of specific and efficient vaccine candidates using the reverse vaccinology method, while utilizing the unique sequential and structural features of potential antigenic proteins to induce protective T cell and B cell responses. Such shortlisted candidates may then be tested quickly for their efficacy in the laboratory and later in clinical settings. These antigens will also be useful for designing antigen-based next-generation sero-diagnostic assays. L. donovani's cell surface-associated proteins and secretory proteins are among the first interacting entities to be exposed to the host immune machinery. As a result, potential antigenic epitope peptides derived from these proteins could serve as competent vaccine components. We used a stepwise filtering-based in silico approach to identify the entire surface-associated and secretory proteome of L. donovani, which may provide rationally selected most exposed antigenic proteins. Our study identified 12 glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored proteins, 45 transmembrane helix-containing proteins, and 73 secretory proteins as potent antigens unique to L. donovani. In addition, we used immunoinformatics to identify B and T cell epitopes in them. Out of the shortlisted surface-associated and secretory proteome, 66 protein targets were found to have the most potential overlapping B cell and T cell epitopes (linear and conformational; MHC class I and MHC class II).
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Affiliation(s)
- Munawwar Karim
- School of Life Sciences, Central University of Himachal Pradesh, District-Kangra, Shahpur, Himachal Pradesh, 176206, India
| | - Garima Singh
- Department of Biotechnology, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Vidya Vihar, Raebareli Road, Lucknow, 226025, India
| | - Shweta Thakur
- School of Life Sciences, Central University of Himachal Pradesh, District-Kangra, Shahpur, Himachal Pradesh, 176206, India
| | - Aarti Rana
- School of Life Sciences, Central University of Himachal Pradesh, District-Kangra, Shahpur, Himachal Pradesh, 176206, India
| | - Abdur Rub
- Infection and Immunity Lab, Department of Biotechnology, Jamia Millia Islamia (A Central University), New Delhi, 110025, India
| | - Yusuf Akhter
- Department of Biotechnology, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Vidya Vihar, Raebareli Road, Lucknow, 226025, India.
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5
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Behmard E, Abdulabbas HT, Abdalkareem Jasim S, Najafipour S, Ghasemian A, Farjadfar A, Barzegari E, Kouhpayeh A, Abdolmaleki P. Design of a novel multi-epitope vaccine candidate against hepatitis C virus using structural and nonstructural proteins: An immunoinformatics approach. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0272582. [PMID: 36040967 PMCID: PMC9426923 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0272582] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2022] [Accepted: 07/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infects the liver and causes chronic infection. Several mutations in the viral genome have been associated with drug resistance development. Currently, there is no approved vaccine against the HCV. The employment of computational biology is the primary and crucial step for vaccine design or antiviral therapy which can substantially reduce the duration and cost of studies. Therefore, in this study, we designed a multi-epitope vaccine using various immunoinformatics tools to elicit the efficient human immune responses against the HCV. Initially, various potential (antigenic, immunogenic, non-toxic and non-allergenic) epitope segments were extracted from viral structural and non-structural protein sequences using multiple screening methods. The selected epitopes were linked to each other properly. Then, toll-like receptors (TLRs) 3 and 4 agonists (50S ribosomal protein L7/L12 and human β-defensin 2, respectively) were added to the N-terminus of the final vaccine sequence to increase its immunogenicity. The 3D structure of the vaccine was modeled. Molecular dynamics simulations studies verified the high stability of final free vaccines and in complex with TLR3 and TLR4. These constructs were also antigenic, non-allergenic, nontoxic and immunogenic. Although the designed vaccine traits were promising as a potential candidate against the HCV infection, experimental studies and clinical trials are required to verify the protective traits and safety of the designed vaccine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Esmaeil Behmard
- School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Fasa University of Medical Sciences, Fasa, Iran
| | - Hussein T. Abdulabbas
- Department of Medical Laboratory Techniques, Faculty of Health and Medical Techniques, Imam Ja’afar Al-Sadiq University, Al Muthanna, Iraq
| | | | - Sohrab Najafipour
- School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Fasa University of Medical Sciences, Fasa, Iran
| | - Abdolmajid Ghasemian
- Noncommunicable Diseases Research Center, Fasa University of Medical Sciences, Fasa, Iran
- * E-mail: (PA); (AK); (AG)
| | - Akbar Farjadfar
- Department of Medical Biotechnology, Fasa University of Medical Sciences, Fasa, Iran
| | - Ebrahim Barzegari
- Medical Biology Research Center, Health Technology Institute, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran
| | - Amin Kouhpayeh
- Department of Pharmacology, Fasa University of Medical Sciences, Fasa, Iran
- * E-mail: (PA); (AK); (AG)
| | - Parviz Abdolmaleki
- Department of Biophysics, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
- * E-mail: (PA); (AK); (AG)
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6
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Zutshi S, Kumar S, Chauhan P, Saha B. Revisiting the Principles of Designing a Vaccine. Methods Mol Biol 2022; 2410:57-91. [PMID: 34914042 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-1884-4_3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Immune principles formulated by Jenner, Pasteur, and early immunologists served as fundamental propositions for vaccine discovery against many dreadful pathogens. However, decisive success in the form of an efficacious vaccine still eludes for diseases such as tuberculosis, leishmaniasis, and trypanosomiasis. Several antileishmanial vaccine trials have been undertaken in past decades incorporating live, attenuated, killed, or subunit vaccination, but the goal remains unmet. In light of the above facts, we have to reassess the principles of vaccination by dissecting factors associated with the hosts' immune response. This chapter discusses the pathogen-associated perturbations at various junctures during the generation of the immune response which inhibits antigenic processing, presentation, or remodels memory T cell repertoire. This can lead to ineffective priming or inappropriate activation of memory T cells during challenge infection. Thus, despite a protective primary response, vaccine failure can occur due to altered immune environments in the presence of pathogens.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sunil Kumar
- National Centre for Cell Science, Pune, Maharashtra, India
| | | | - Bhaskar Saha
- National Centre for Cell Science, Pune, Maharashtra, India.
- Trident Academy of Creative Technology, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India.
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Shermeh AS, Zahedifard F, Habibzadeh S, Taheri T, Rafati S, Seyed N. Evaluation of protection induced by in vitro maturated BMDCs presenting CD8 + T cell stimulating peptides after a heterologous vaccination regimen in BALB/c model against Leishmania major. Exp Parasitol 2021; 223:108082. [PMID: 33581108 DOI: 10.1016/j.exppara.2021.108082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2020] [Revised: 01/07/2021] [Accepted: 01/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Leishmaniasis is a complex vector-borne disease mediated by Leishmania parasite and a strong and long-lasting CD4+ Th1 and CD8+-T cell immunity is required to control the infection. Thus far multivalent subunit vaccines have met this requirement more promisingly. However several full protein sequences cannot be easily arranged in one construct. Instead, new emerging immune-informatics based epitope formulations surpass this restriction. Herein, we aimed to examine the protective potential of a dendritic cell based vaccine presenting epitopes to CD8+ and CD4+-T cells in combination with DNA vaccine encoding the same epitopes against murine cutaneous leishmaniasis. Immature DCs were loaded with epitopes (selected from parasite proteome) in vitro with or without CpG oligonucleotides and were used to immunize BALB/c mice. Peptide coding DNA was used to boost the system and immunological responses were evaluated after Leishmania (L.) major infectious challenge. The pre-challenge response to included epitopes was Th1 polarized which potentially lowered the infection at early time points post-challenge but not at later weeks. Collectively, DC prime-DNA boost was found to be a promising approach for Th1 polarization however the constituent epitopes undoubtedly make a significant contribution in the protection outcome of the vaccine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Atefeh Sadeghi Shermeh
- Immunotherapy and Leishmania Vaccine Research Department, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Farnaz Zahedifard
- Immunotherapy and Leishmania Vaccine Research Department, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Sima Habibzadeh
- Immunotherapy and Leishmania Vaccine Research Department, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Tahereh Taheri
- Immunotherapy and Leishmania Vaccine Research Department, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Sima Rafati
- Immunotherapy and Leishmania Vaccine Research Department, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Negar Seyed
- Immunotherapy and Leishmania Vaccine Research Department, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran.
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8
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Khan MAA, Ami JQ, Faisal K, Chowdhury R, Ghosh P, Hossain F, Abd El Wahed A, Mondal D. An immunoinformatic approach driven by experimental proteomics: in silico design of a subunit candidate vaccine targeting secretory proteins of Leishmania donovani amastigotes. Parasit Vectors 2020; 13:196. [PMID: 32295617 PMCID: PMC7160903 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-020-04064-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2019] [Accepted: 04/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) caused by dimorphic Leishmania species is a parasitic disease with high socioeconomic burden in endemic areas worldwide. Sustaining control of VL in terms of proper and prevailing immunity development is a global necessity amid unavailability of a prophylactic vaccine. Screening of experimental proteome of the human disease propagating form of Leishmania donovani (amastigote) can be more pragmatic for in silico mining of novel vaccine candidates. Methods By using an immunoinformatic approach, CD4+ and CD8+ T cell-specific epitopes from experimentally reported L. donovani proteins having secretory potential and increased abundance in amastigotes were screened. A chimera linked with a Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) peptide adjuvant was constructed and evaluated for physicochemical characteristics, binding interaction with TLR4 in simulated physiological condition and the trend of immune response following hypothetical immunization. Results Selected epitopes from physiologically important L. donovani proteins were found mostly conserved in L. infantum, covering theoretically more than 98% of the global population. The multi-epitope chimeric vaccine was predicted as stable, antigenic and non-allergenic. Structural analysis of vaccine-TLR4 receptor docked complex and its molecular dynamics simulation suggest sufficiently stable binding interface along with prospect of non-canonical receptor activation. Simulation dynamics of immune response following hypothetical immunization indicate active and memory B as well as CD4+ T cell generation potential, and likely chance of a more Th1 polarized response. Conclusions The methodological approach and results from this study could facilitate more informed screening and selection of candidate antigenic proteins for entry into vaccine production pipeline in future to control human VL.![]()
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Affiliation(s)
- Md Anik Ashfaq Khan
- Nutrition and Clinical Services Division, International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Dhaka, 1212, Bangladesh
| | - Jenifar Quaiyum Ami
- Infectious Diseases Division, International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Dhaka, 1212, Bangladesh
| | - Khaledul Faisal
- Nutrition and Clinical Services Division, International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Dhaka, 1212, Bangladesh
| | - Rajashree Chowdhury
- Nutrition and Clinical Services Division, International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Dhaka, 1212, Bangladesh
| | - Prakash Ghosh
- Nutrition and Clinical Services Division, International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Dhaka, 1212, Bangladesh
| | - Faria Hossain
- Nutrition and Clinical Services Division, International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Dhaka, 1212, Bangladesh
| | - Ahmed Abd El Wahed
- Microbiology and Animal Hygiene Division, Georg-August-University Goettingen, Burckhardtweg 2, 37077, Göttingen, Germany.
| | - Dinesh Mondal
- Nutrition and Clinical Services Division, International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Dhaka, 1212, Bangladesh.
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Hamrouni S, Bras-Gonçalves R, Kidar A, Aoun K, Chamakh-Ayari R, Petitdidier E, Messaoudi Y, Pagniez J, Lemesre JL, Meddeb-Garnaoui A. Design of multi-epitope peptides containing HLA class-I and class-II-restricted epitopes derived from immunogenic Leishmania proteins, and evaluation of CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses induced in cured cutaneous leishmaniasis subjects. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2020; 14:e0008093. [PMID: 32176691 PMCID: PMC7098648 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0008093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2019] [Revised: 03/26/2020] [Accepted: 01/27/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Human leishmaniasis is a public health problem worldwide for which the development of a vaccine remains a challenge. T cell-mediated immune responses are crucial for protection. Peptide vaccines based on the identification of immunodominant T cell epitopes able to induce T cell specific immune responses constitute a promising strategy. Here, we report the identification of human leukocyte antigen class-I (HLA-I) and -II (HLA-II)-restricted multi-epitope peptides from Leishmania proteins that we have previously described as vaccine candidates. Promastigote Surface Antigen (PSA), LmlRAB (L. major large RAB GTPase) and Histone (H2B) were screened, in silico, for T cell epitopes. 6 HLA-I and 5 HLA-II-restricted multi-epitope peptides, able to bind to the most frequent HLA molecules, were designed and used as pools to stimulate PBMCs from individuals with healed cutaneous leishmaniasis. IFN-γ, IL-10, TNF-α and granzyme B (GrB) production was evaluated by ELISA/CBA. The frequency of IFN-γ-producing T cells was quantified by ELISpot. T cells secreting cytokines and memory T cells were analyzed by flow cytometry. 16 of 25 peptide pools containing HLA-I, HLA-II or HLA-I and -II peptides were able to induce specific and significant IFN-γ levels. No IL-10 was detected. 6 peptide pools were selected among those inducing the highest IFN-γ levels for further characterization. 3/6 pools were able to induce a significant increase of the percentages of CD4+IFN-γ+, CD8+IFN-γ+ and CD4+GrB+ T cells. The same pools also induced a significant increase of the percentages of bifunctional IFN-γ+/TNF-α+CD4+ and/or central memory T cells. We identified highly promiscuous HLA-I and -II restricted epitope combinations from H2B, PSA and LmlRAB proteins that stimulate both CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses in recovered individuals. These multi-epitope peptides could be used as potential components of a polytope vaccine for human leishmaniasis. The control of leishmaniasis, a neglected tropical disease of public health importance, caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania, mainly relies on chemotherapy, which is highly toxic. Currently, there is no vaccine against human leishmaniasis. Peptide-based vaccines consisting of T cell epitopes identified within proteins of interest by epitope predictive algorithms are a promising strategy for vaccine development. Here, we identified multi-epitope peptides composed of HLA-I and -II-restricted epitopes, using immunoinformatic tools, within Leishmania proteins previously described as potential vaccine candidates. We showed that multi-epitope peptides used as pools were able to activate IFN-γ producing CD4+ as well as CD8+ T cells, both required for parasite elimination. In addition, granzyme B-producing CD4+ T cells, bifunctional CD4+ IFN-γ+/TNF-α+ and/or TNF-α+/IL-2+ T cells as well as CD4+ and CD8+ central memory T cells, all involved in Leishmania infection control, were significantly increased in response to multi-epitope peptide stimulation. As far as we know, no study has described the detection of both CD4+ and CD8+ T cell populations in response to stimulation by both HLA-I and II-restricted peptides in humans. The immunogenic HLA-I and -II-restricted multi-epitope peptides identified in this study could constitute potential vaccine candidates against human leishmaniasis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarra Hamrouni
- Laboratoire de Parasitologie Médicale, Biotechnologie et Biomolécules, Institut Pasteur de Tunis, Tunis, Tunisie
- Faculté des Sciences de Bizerte, Université de Carthage, Tunis, Tunisie
- UMR INTERTRYP, Université de Montpellier, IRD, CIRAD, Montpellier, France
| | | | | | - Karim Aoun
- Laboratoire de Parasitologie Médicale, Biotechnologie et Biomolécules, Institut Pasteur de Tunis, Tunis, Tunisie
| | - Rym Chamakh-Ayari
- Laboratoire de Parasitologie Médicale, Biotechnologie et Biomolécules, Institut Pasteur de Tunis, Tunis, Tunisie
- Faculté des Sciences de Bizerte, Université de Carthage, Tunis, Tunisie
| | - Elodie Petitdidier
- UMR INTERTRYP, Université de Montpellier, IRD, CIRAD, Montpellier, France
| | - Yasmine Messaoudi
- Laboratoire de Parasitologie Médicale, Biotechnologie et Biomolécules, Institut Pasteur de Tunis, Tunis, Tunisie
- Faculté des Sciences de Bizerte, Université de Carthage, Tunis, Tunisie
- UMR INTERTRYP, Université de Montpellier, IRD, CIRAD, Montpellier, France
| | - Julie Pagniez
- UMR INTERTRYP, Université de Montpellier, IRD, CIRAD, Montpellier, France
| | - Jean-Loup Lemesre
- UMR INTERTRYP, Université de Montpellier, IRD, CIRAD, Montpellier, France
| | - Amel Meddeb-Garnaoui
- Laboratoire de Parasitologie Médicale, Biotechnologie et Biomolécules, Institut Pasteur de Tunis, Tunis, Tunisie
- * E-mail:
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10
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Pandey R, Dikhit MR, Kumar A, Dehury B, Pandey K, Topno RK, Das P, Bimal S. Evaluating the immunomodulatory responses of LdODC-derived MHC Class-II restricted peptides against VL. Parasite Immunol 2020; 42:e12699. [PMID: 31976563 DOI: 10.1111/pim.12699] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2019] [Accepted: 01/04/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
In a bid to develop a novel immunoprophylactic measure against visceral leishmaniasis (VL), MHC class-II-restricted epitopes of LdODC were identified by reverse vaccinology approach. Five consensus HLA-DRB1*0101-restricted epitopes were screened. The analysis revealed that the set of epitopes was presented by at least 54 diverse MHC class-II alleles. Based on in silico screening, followed by molecular dynamics simulation, population coverage analysis, and HLA cross-presentation ability, five best epitopes were evaluated. PBMCs isolated from treated VL subjects, when stimulated with synthetic peptide alone or as a cocktail of peptides, triggered a secretory IFN-γ, but not the IL-10 level. Support in this notion came from intracellular cytokine level with a considerable up-regulated IFN-γ produced by CD4+ T cells. Also, the enhanced IFN-γ seemed to be augmented with the activation of macrophages with prominent IL-12 production. Therefore, it can be concluded that the screened MHC class-II-restricted epitope hotspots derived from Leishmania ODC can trigger CD4+ T cells, which can skew macrophage functions towards protection. However, a detailed analysis can explore its potentiality as a vaccine candidate.
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Affiliation(s)
- RajKishor Pandey
- Department of Biotechnology, National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education & Research, Hajipur, India.,Division of Immunology, Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna, India
| | - Manas Ranjan Dikhit
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna, India
| | - Avinash Kumar
- Department of Biotechnology, National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education & Research, Hajipur, India
| | - Budheswar Dehury
- Department of Bioinformatics, ICMR-RMRC, Government of India, Bhubaneswar, India
| | - Krishna Pandey
- Departmentof Clinical Medicine, Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna, India
| | - Roshan Kamal Topno
- Departmentof Epidemiology, Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna, India
| | - Pradeep Das
- Department of Molecular Biology, Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna, India
| | - Sanjiva Bimal
- Division of Immunology, Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna, India
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11
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Synthetic Peptides Elicit Strong Cellular Immunity in Visceral Leishmaniasis Natural Reservoir and Contribute to Long-Lasting Polyfunctional T-Cells in BALB/c Mice. Vaccines (Basel) 2019; 7:vaccines7040162. [PMID: 31661776 PMCID: PMC6963447 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines7040162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2019] [Revised: 10/17/2019] [Accepted: 10/19/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Reverse vaccinology or immunoinformatics is a computational methodology which integrates data from in silico epitope prediction, associated to other important information as, for example, the predicted subcellular location of the proteins used in the design of the context of vaccine development. This approach has the potential to search for new targets for vaccine development in the predicted proteome of pathogenic organisms. To date, there is no effective vaccine employed in vaccination campaigns against visceral leishmaniasis (VL). For the first time, herein, an in silico, in vitro, and in vivo peptide screening was performed, and immunogenic peptides were selected to constitute VL peptide-based vaccines. Firstly, the screening of in silico potential peptides using dogs naturally infected by L. infantum was conducted and the peptides with the best performance were selected. The mentioned peptides were used to compose Cockt-1 (cocktail 1) and Cockt-2 (cocktail 2) in combination with saponin as the adjuvant. Therefore, tests for immunogenicity, polyfunctional T-cells, and the ability to induce central and effector memory in T-lymphocytes capacity in reducing the parasite load on the spleen for Cockt-1 and Cockt-2 were performed. Among the vaccines under study, Cockt-1 showed the best results, eliciting CD4+ and CD8+ polyfunctional T-cells, with a reduction in spleen parasitism that correlates to the generation of T CD4+ central memory and T CD8+ effector memory cells. In this way, our findings corroborate the use of immunoinformatics as a tool for the development of future vaccines against VL.
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12
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Dikhit MR, Das S, Mahantesh V, Kumar A, Singh AK, Dehury B, Rout AK, Ali V, Sahoo GC, Topno RK, Pandey K, Das VNR, Bimal S, Das P. The potential HLA Class I-restricted epitopes derived from LeIF and TSA of Leishmania donovani evoke anti-leishmania CD8+ T lymphocyte response. Sci Rep 2018; 8:14175. [PMID: 30242172 PMCID: PMC6154976 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-32040-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2018] [Accepted: 08/14/2018] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
To explore new protective measure against visceral leishmaniasis, reverse vaccinology approach was employed to identify key immunogenic regions which can mediate long-term immunity. In-depth computational analysis revealed nine promiscuous epitopes which can possibly be presented by 46 human leukocyte antigen, thereby broadening the worldwide population up to 94.16%. This is of reasonable significance that most of the epitopes shared 100% sequence homology with other Leishmania species and could evoke a common pattern of protective immune response. Transporter associated with antigen processing binding affinity, molecular docking approach followed by dynamics simulation and human leukocyte antigen stabilization assay suggested that the best five optimal set of epitopes bind in between α1 and α2 binding groove with sufficient affinity and stability which allows the translocation of intact epitope to the cell surface. Fascinatingly, the human leukocyte antigen stabilization assay exhibited a modest correlation with the positive immunogenicity score predicted by class I pMHC immunogenicity predictor. A support for this notion came from ELISA and FACS analysis where the epitopes as a cocktail induced CD8+ IFN-γ and Granzyme B levels significantly in treated visceral leishmaniasis subject which suggests the immunogenic ability of the selected epitopes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manas Ranjan Dikhit
- BioMedical Informatics Division, Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Agamkuan, Patna, 800007, Bihar, India.,Department of Immunology, Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Agamkuan, Patna, 800007, Bihar, India
| | - Sushmita Das
- Department of Microbiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna, 801507, Bihar, India
| | - Vijaya Mahantesh
- Department of Immunology, Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Agamkuan, Patna, 800007, Bihar, India
| | - Akhilesh Kumar
- Department of Immunology, Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Agamkuan, Patna, 800007, Bihar, India
| | - Ashish Kumar Singh
- Department of Immunology, Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Agamkuan, Patna, 800007, Bihar, India
| | - Budheswar Dehury
- BioMedical Informatics Centre, ICMR-Regional Medical Research Centre, Bhubaneswar, 751023, Odisha, India
| | - Ajaya Kumar Rout
- Biotechnology Laboratory, ICAR-Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute, Barrackpore, Kolkata, 700120, West Bengal, India
| | - Vahab Ali
- Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Agamkuan, Patna, 800007, Bihar, India
| | - Ganesh Chandra Sahoo
- BioMedical Informatics Division, Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Agamkuan, Patna, 800007, Bihar, India
| | - Roshan Kamal Topno
- Department of Epidemiology, Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Agamkuan, Patna, 800007, Bihar, India
| | - Krishna Pandey
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Agamkuan, Patna, 800007, Bihar, India
| | - V N R Das
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Agamkuan, Patna, 800007, Bihar, India
| | - Sanjiva Bimal
- Department of Immunology, Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Agamkuan, Patna, 800007, Bihar, India
| | - Pradeep Das
- Department of Molecular Parasitology, Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Agamkuan, Patna, 800007, Bihar, India.
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13
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Singh AK, Das VNR, Amit A, Dikhit MR, Mahantesh V, Singh SK, Naryan S, Pandey K, Das P, Verma N, Bimal S. Cytokines and chemokines differentially regulate innate immune cell trafficking during post kala‐azar dermal leishmaniasis. J Cell Biochem 2018; 119:7406-7418. [DOI: 10.1002/jcb.27048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2017] [Accepted: 04/23/2018] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ashish K. Singh
- Department of ImmunologyRajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical SciencesPatnaIndia
| | - Vidya N. R. Das
- Department of Clinical MedicineRajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical SciencesPatnaIndia
| | - Ajay Amit
- Department of ImmunologyRajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical SciencesPatnaIndia
| | - Manas R. Dikhit
- Department of ImmunologyRajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical SciencesPatnaIndia
| | - Vijaya Mahantesh
- Department of ImmunologyRajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical SciencesPatnaIndia
| | - Shubhankar K. Singh
- Department of MicrobiologyRajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical SciencesPatnaIndia
| | - Shyam Naryan
- Department of MicrobiologyRajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical SciencesPatnaIndia
| | - Krishna Pandey
- Department of Clinical MedicineRajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical SciencesPatnaIndia
| | - Pradeep Das
- Department of Molecular BiologyRajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical SciencesPatnaIndia
| | - Neena Verma
- Department of PathologyRajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical SciencesPatnaIndia
| | - Sanjiva Bimal
- Department of ImmunologyRajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical SciencesPatnaIndia
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14
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De Brito RCF, Cardoso JMDO, Reis LES, Vieira JF, Mathias FAS, Roatt BM, Aguiar-Soares RDDO, Ruiz JC, Resende DDM, Reis AB. Peptide Vaccines for Leishmaniasis. Front Immunol 2018; 9:1043. [PMID: 29868006 PMCID: PMC5958606 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2018.01043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2018] [Accepted: 04/26/2018] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Due to an increase in the incidence of leishmaniases worldwide, the development of new strategies such as prophylactic vaccines to prevent infection and decrease the disease have become a high priority. Classic vaccines against leishmaniases were based on live or attenuated parasites or their subunits. Nevertheless, the use of whole parasite or their subunits for vaccine production has numerous disadvantages. Therefore, the use of Leishmania peptides to design more specific vaccines against leishmaniases seems promising. Moreover, peptides have several benefits in comparison with other kinds of antigens, for instance, good stability, absence of potentially damaging materials, antigen low complexity, and low-cost to scale up. By contrast, peptides are poor immunogenic alone, and they need to be delivered correctly. In this context, several approaches described in this review are useful to solve these drawbacks. Approaches, such as, peptides in combination with potent adjuvants, cellular vaccinations, adenovirus, polyepitopes, or DNA vaccines have been used to develop peptide-based vaccines. Recent advancements in peptide vaccine design, chimeric, or polypeptide vaccines and nanovaccines based on particles attached or formulated with antigenic components or peptides have been increasingly employed to drive a specific immune response. In this review, we briefly summarize the old, current, and future stands on peptide-based vaccines, describing the disadvantages and benefits associated with them. We also propose possible approaches to overcome the related weaknesses of synthetic vaccines and suggest future guidelines for their development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rory C F De Brito
- Laboratório de Pesquisas Clínicas, Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciências Farmacêuticas/CiPharma, Escola de Farmácia, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Brazil.,Laboratório de Imunopatologia, Núcleo de Pesquisas em Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Brazil
| | - Jamille M De O Cardoso
- Laboratório de Imunopatologia, Núcleo de Pesquisas em Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Brazil
| | - Levi E S Reis
- Laboratório de Pesquisas Clínicas, Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciências Farmacêuticas/CiPharma, Escola de Farmácia, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Brazil.,Laboratório de Imunopatologia, Núcleo de Pesquisas em Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Brazil
| | - Joao F Vieira
- Laboratório de Imunopatologia, Núcleo de Pesquisas em Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Brazil
| | - Fernando A S Mathias
- Laboratório de Imunopatologia, Núcleo de Pesquisas em Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Brazil
| | - Bruno M Roatt
- Laboratório de Pesquisas Clínicas, Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciências Farmacêuticas/CiPharma, Escola de Farmácia, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Brazil.,Laboratório de Imunopatologia, Núcleo de Pesquisas em Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Brazil.,Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia em Doenças Tropicais, Salvador, Brazil
| | - Rodrigo Dian D O Aguiar-Soares
- Laboratório de Imunopatologia, Núcleo de Pesquisas em Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Brazil
| | - Jeronimo C Ruiz
- Grupo Informática de Biossistemas e Genômica, Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciências da Saúde, Instituto René Rachou, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.,Programa de Pós-graduação em Biologia Computacional e Sistemas, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Daniela de M Resende
- Grupo Informática de Biossistemas e Genômica, Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciências da Saúde, Instituto René Rachou, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.,Programa de Pós-graduação em Biologia Computacional e Sistemas, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Alexandre B Reis
- Laboratório de Pesquisas Clínicas, Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciências Farmacêuticas/CiPharma, Escola de Farmácia, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Brazil.,Laboratório de Imunopatologia, Núcleo de Pesquisas em Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Brazil.,Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia em Doenças Tropicais, Salvador, Brazil
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15
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Kumar A, Dikhit MR, Amit A, Zaidi A, Pandey RK, Singh AK, Suman SS, Ali V, Das VNR, Pandey K, kumar V, Singh SK, Narayan S, Chourasia HK, Das P, Bimal S. Immunomodulation induced through ornithine decarboxylase DNA immunization in Balb/c mice infected with Leishmania donovani. Mol Immunol 2018; 97:33-44. [DOI: 10.1016/j.molimm.2018.03.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2017] [Revised: 03/05/2018] [Accepted: 03/07/2018] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
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16
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Didwania N, Shadab M, Sabur A, Ali N. Alternative to Chemotherapy-The Unmet Demand against Leishmaniasis. Front Immunol 2017; 8:1779. [PMID: 29312309 PMCID: PMC5742582 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2017.01779] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2017] [Accepted: 11/28/2017] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Leishmaniasis is a neglected protozoan disease that mainly affects the tropical as well as subtropical countries of the world. The primary option to control the disease still relies on chemotherapy. However, a hindrance to treatments owing to the emergence of drug-resistant parasites, enormous side effects of the drugs, their high cost, and requirement of long course hospitalization has added to the existing problems of leishmaniasis containment program. This review highlights the prospects of immunotherapy and/or immunochemotherapy to address the limitations for current treatment measures for leishmaniasis. In addition to the progress in alternate therapeutic strategies, the possibility and advances in developing preventive measures against the disease have been pointed. The review highlights our recent understandings of the protective immunology that can be exploited to develop an effective vaccine against leishmaniasis. Moreover, an update on the approaches that have evolved over the recent years are predominantly focused to overcome the current challenges in developing immunotherapeutic as well as prophylactic antileishmanial vaccines is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicky Didwania
- Infectious Diseases and Immunology Division, CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata, India
| | - Md Shadab
- Infectious Diseases and Immunology Division, CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata, India
| | - Abdus Sabur
- Infectious Diseases and Immunology Division, CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata, India
| | - Nahid Ali
- Infectious Diseases and Immunology Division, CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata, India
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17
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Dikhit MR, Kumar A, Das S, Dehury B, Rout AK, Jamal F, Sahoo GC, Topno RK, Pandey K, Das VNR, Bimal S, Das P. Identification of Potential MHC Class-II-Restricted Epitopes Derived from Leishmania donovani Antigens by Reverse Vaccinology and Evaluation of Their CD4+ T-Cell Responsiveness against Visceral Leishmaniasis. Front Immunol 2017; 8:1763. [PMID: 29312304 PMCID: PMC5735068 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2017.01763] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2017] [Accepted: 11/27/2017] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is one of the most neglected tropical diseases for which no vaccine exists. In spite of extensive efforts, no successful vaccine is available against this dreadful infectious disease. To support vaccine development, an immunoinformatics approach was applied to screen potential MHC class-II-restricted epitopes that can activate the immune cells. Initially, 37 epitopes derived from six stage-dependent, overexpressed antigens were predicted, which were presented by at least 26 diverse MHC class-II allele. Based on a population coverage analysis and human leukocyte antigen cross-presentation ability, six of the 37 epitopes were selected for further analysis. Stimulation with synthetic peptide alone or as a cocktail triggered intracellular IFN-γ production. Moreover, specific IgG antibodies were detected in the serum of active VL cases against P1, P4, P5, and P6 in order to evaluate the peptide effect on the humoral immune response. Additionally, most of the peptides, except P2, were found to be non-inducers of CD4+ IL-10 against both active VL as well as treated VL subjects. This finding suggests there is no role of these peptides in the pathogenesis of Leishmania. Peptide immunogenicity was validated in BALB/c mice immunized with a cocktail of synthetic peptide emulsified in complete Freund’s adjuvant/incomplete Freund’s adjuvant. The immunized splenocytes induced strong spleen cell proliferation upon parasite re-stimulation. Furthermore, increased IFN-γ, interleukin-12, IL-17, and IL-22 production augmented with elevated nitric oxide (NO) synthesis is thought to play a crucial role in macrophage activation. In this investigation, we identified six MHC class-II-restricted epitope hotspots of Leishmania antigens that induce CD4+ Th1 and Th17 responses, which could be used to potentiate a human universal T-epitope vaccine against VL.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manas Ranjan Dikhit
- BioMedical Informatics Division, Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna, India.,Department of Immunology, Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna, India
| | - Akhilesh Kumar
- Department of Immunology, Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna, India
| | - Sushmita Das
- Department of Microbiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna, India
| | - Budheswar Dehury
- Biomedical Informatics Centre, ICMR-Regional Medical Research Centre, Odisha, India
| | - Ajaya Kumar Rout
- Biotechnology Laboratory, ICAR-Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute, Kolkata, India
| | - Fauzia Jamal
- Department of Microbiology, Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna, India
| | - Ganesh Chandra Sahoo
- BioMedical Informatics Division, Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna, India
| | - Roshan Kamal Topno
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna, India
| | - Krishna Pandey
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna, India
| | - V N R Das
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna, India
| | - Sanjiva Bimal
- Department of Immunology, Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna, India
| | - Pradeep Das
- Department of Molecular Parasitology, Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna, India
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18
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Dikhit MR, Amit A, Singh AK, Kumar A, Mansuri R, Sinha S, Topno RK, Mishra R, Das VNR, Pandey K, Sahoo GC, Ali V, Bimal S, Das P. Vaccine potential of HLA-A2 epitopes from Leishmania
Cysteine Protease Type III (CPC). Parasite Immunol 2017; 39. [DOI: 10.1111/pim.12451] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2017] [Accepted: 06/15/2017] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- M. R. Dikhit
- Department of Bioinformatics; Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences; Patna India
| | - A. Amit
- Department of Immunology; Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences; Patna India
| | - A. K. Singh
- Department of Immunology; Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences; Patna India
- Department of Pathology; Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences; Patna India
| | - A. Kumar
- Department of Immunology; Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences; Patna India
| | - R. Mansuri
- Department of Bioinformatics; Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences; Patna India
| | - S. Sinha
- Department of Bioinformatics; Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences; Patna India
| | - R. K. Topno
- Department of Epidemiology; Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences; Patna India
| | - R. Mishra
- Department of Clinical Medicine; Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences; Patna India
| | - V. N. R. Das
- Department of Clinical Medicine; Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences; Patna India
| | - K. Pandey
- Department of Clinical Medicine; Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences; Patna India
| | - G. C. Sahoo
- Department of Bioinformatics; Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences; Patna India
| | - V. Ali
- Department of Biochemistry; Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences; Patna India
| | - S. Bimal
- Department of Immunology; Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences; Patna India
| | - P. Das
- Department of Molecular Parasitology; Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences; Patna India
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