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Verma J, Kaushal N, Manish M, Subbarao N, Shakirova V, Martynova E, Liu R, Hamza S, Rizvanov AA, Khaiboullina SF, Baranwal M. Identification of conserved immunogenic peptides of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2023:1-17. [PMID: 37750540 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2023.2260484] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2023] [Accepted: 09/13/2023] [Indexed: 09/27/2023]
Abstract
The emergence of the new SARS-CoV-2 variants has led to major concern regarding the efficacy of approved vaccines. Nucleocapsid is a conserved structural protein essential for replication of the virus. This study focuses on identifying conserved epitopes on the nucleocapsid (N) protein of SARS-CoV-2. Using 510 unique amino acid sequences of SARS-CoV-2 N protein, two peptides (193 and 215 aa) with 90% conservancy were selected for T cell epitope prediction. Three immunogenic peptides containing multiple T cell epitopes were identified which were devoid of autoimmune and allergic immune response. These peptides were also conserved (100%) in recent Omicron variants reported in Jan-August 2023. HLA analysis reveals that these peptides are predicted as binding to large number of HLA alleles and 71-90% population coverage in six continents. Identified peptides displayed good binding score with both HLA class I and HLA class II molecules in the docking study. Also, a vaccine construct docked with TLR-4 receptor displays strong interaction with 20 hydrogen bonds and molecular simulation analysis reveals that docked complex are stable. Additionally, the immunogenicity of these N protein peptides was confirmed using SARS-CoV-2 convalescent serum samples. We conclude that the identified N protein peptides contain highly conserved and antigenic epitopes which could be used as a target for the future vaccine development against SARS-CoV-2.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jigyasa Verma
- Department of Biotechnology, Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, Patiala, India
| | - Neha Kaushal
- Department of Biotechnology, Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, Patiala, India
| | - Manish Manish
- School of Computational & Integrative Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
| | - Naidu Subbarao
- School of Computational & Integrative Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
| | - Venera Shakirova
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Kazan State Medical Academy, Kazan, Russia
| | - Ekaterina Martynova
- Institute of Fundamental Medicine and Biology, Kazan Federal University, Kazan, Russia
| | - Rongzeng Liu
- Department of Immunology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang, China
| | - Shaimaa Hamza
- Institute of Fundamental Medicine and Biology, Kazan Federal University, Kazan, Russia
| | - Albert A Rizvanov
- Institute of Fundamental Medicine and Biology, Kazan Federal University, Kazan, Russia
| | | | - Manoj Baranwal
- Department of Biotechnology, Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, Patiala, India
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Suleman M, ul Qamar MT, Kiran, Rasool S, Rasool A, Albutti A, Alsowayeh N, Alwashmi ASS, Aljasir MA, Ahmad S, Hussain Z, Rizwan M, Ali SS, Khan A, Wei DQ. Immunoinformatics and Immunogenetics-Based Design of Immunogenic Peptides Vaccine against the Emerging Tick-Borne Encephalitis Virus (TBEV) and Its Validation through In Silico Cloning and Immune Simulation. Vaccines (Basel) 2021; 9:1210. [PMID: 34835141 PMCID: PMC8624571 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines9111210] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2021] [Revised: 10/05/2021] [Accepted: 10/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Pegivirus, HPgV, earlier known as Gb virus and hepatitis G virus, is an enveloped, positive-stranded RNA and lymphotropic virus classified into the Flaviviridae family. The transmission routes primarily involve blood products, with infections worldwide, leading up to 25% of persistent infections. To date, no effective therapeutic means are available to resolve Pegivirus infections. Effective vaccine therapeutics are the best alternative to manage this disease and any associated potential pandemic. Thus, whole proteome-based mining of immunogenic peptides, i.e., CTL (cytotoxic T lymphocytes), HTL (helper T lymphocytes) and B cell epitopes were mapped to design a vaccine ensemble. Our investigation revealed that 29 different epitopes impart a critical role in immune response induction, which was also validated by exploring its physiochemical properties and experimental feasibility. In silico expression and host immune simulation using an agent-based modeling approach confirmed the induction of both primary and secondary immune factors such as IL, cytokines and antibodies. The current study warrants further lab experiments to demonstrate its efficacy and safety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muhammad Suleman
- Centre for Biotechnology and Microbiology, University of Swat, Swat 19200, Pakistan; (M.S.); (Z.H.); (M.R.); (S.S.A.)
| | | | - Kiran
- Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan;
| | - Samreen Rasool
- Department of Biochemistry, Government College University, Lahore 54000, Pakistan;
| | - Aneela Rasool
- Department of Botany, University of Okara, Okara 56300, Pakistan;
| | - Aqel Albutti
- Department of Medical Biotechnology, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Qassim University, Buraydah 51452, Saudi Arabia
| | - Noorah Alsowayeh
- Department of Biology, College of Education, Majmaah University, Al Majma’ah 15341, Saudi Arabia;
| | - Ameen S. S. Alwashmi
- Department of Medical Laboratories, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Qassim University, Buraydah 51452, Saudi Arabia; (A.S.S.A.); (M.A.A.)
| | - Mohammad Abdullah Aljasir
- Department of Medical Laboratories, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Qassim University, Buraydah 51452, Saudi Arabia; (A.S.S.A.); (M.A.A.)
| | - Sajjad Ahmad
- Department of Health and Biological Sciences, Abasyn University, Peshawar 25120, Pakistan;
| | - Zahid Hussain
- Centre for Biotechnology and Microbiology, University of Swat, Swat 19200, Pakistan; (M.S.); (Z.H.); (M.R.); (S.S.A.)
| | - Muhammad Rizwan
- Centre for Biotechnology and Microbiology, University of Swat, Swat 19200, Pakistan; (M.S.); (Z.H.); (M.R.); (S.S.A.)
| | - Syed Shujait Ali
- Centre for Biotechnology and Microbiology, University of Swat, Swat 19200, Pakistan; (M.S.); (Z.H.); (M.R.); (S.S.A.)
| | - Abbas Khan
- Department of Bioinformatics and Biological Statistics, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China;
| | - Dong-Qing Wei
- Department of Bioinformatics and Biological Statistics, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China;
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Shanghai-Islamabad-Belgrade Joint Innovation Center on Antibacterial Resistances, Joint Laboratory of International Cooperation in Metabolic and Developmental Sciences, Ministry of Education and School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China
- Peng Cheng Laboratory, Vanke Cloud City Phase I Building 8, Xili Street, Nashan District, Shenzhen 518055, China
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