1. A multi-epitope subunit vaccine based on CU/ZN-SOD, OMP31 and BP26 against Brucella melitensis infection in BALB/C mice.
- Author
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Wang, Yueli, Wu, Aodi, Xu, Zhenyu, Zhang, Huan, Li, Honghuan, Fu, Shuangshuang, Liu, Yajing, Cui, Lijin, Miao, Yuhe, Wang, Yong, Zhumanov, Kaiat, Xu, Yimei, Sheng, Jinliang, Yi, Jihai, and Chen, Chuangfu
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BRUCELLA melitensis , *CYTOTOXIC T cells , *IMMUNOGLOBULINS , *T helper cells , *T cells , *B cells , *VACCINES - Abstract
• A multi-epitope subunit vaccine (MEVocb) was developed using a reverse vaccinology approach to prevent Brucella infection. • The MEVocb showed high immunogenicity and elicited a specific humoral and cellular immune response in mice. • The MEVocb has strong antibody response and immune protection. • The MEVocb provided statistically significant protection against Brucella melitensis 043 in Xinjiang. • The MEVocb construct demonstrates the potential for an acceptable new Brucella subunit vaccine. Brucellosis, a zoonosis caused by Brucella , is highly detrimental to both humans and animals. Most existing vaccines are live attenuated vaccines with safety flaws for people and animals. Therefore, it is advantageous to design a multi-epitope subunit vaccine (MEV) to prevent Brucella infection. To this end, we applied a reverse vaccinology approach. Six cytotoxic T cell (CTL) epitopes, seven T helper cell (HTL) epitopes, and four linear B cell epitopes from CU/ZN-SOD, Omp31, and BP26 were obtained. We linked the CTL, HTL, B-cell epitopes, the appropriate CTB molecular adjuvant, and the universal T helper lymphocyte epitope, PADRE, with linkers AAY, GPPGG, and KK, respectively. This yielded a 412-amino acid MEV construct, which we named MEVcob. The immunogenicity, stability, safety, and feasibility of the construct were evaluated by bioinformatics tools (including the AlphaFold2 prediction tool, the AlphaFold2 tool, NetMHC-I pan 4.0 server, IEDB MHC-I server, ABCpred service, and C-ImmSim server); the physicochemical properties, secondary and tertiary structures, and binding ability of MEVocb to toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) was analyzed. Then, codon adaptation and computer cloning studies were performed. MEVocb is highly immunogenic in immunostimulation experiments, The proteins translated by these sequences were relatively stable, exhibiting a high antigenic index. Furthermore, mouse experiments confirmed that the MEVocb construct could raise IFN-γ, IgG, IgG2a, IgG1, IL-2, TNF-α levels in mice, indicating that induced a specific humoral and cellular immune response in BALB/c mice. This vaccine induced a statistically significant level of protection in BALB/c mice when challenged with Brucella melitensis 043 in Xinjiang. Briefly, we utilized immunoinformatic tools to design a novel multi-epitope subunit candidate vaccine against Brucella. This vaccine aims to induce host immune responses and confer specific protective effects. The study results offer a theoretical foundation for the development of a novel Brucella subunit vaccine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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