DEVELOPMENT OF EPITOPE-BASED VACCINE TO PREVENT MARBURG VIRUS INFECTION: AN IN SILICO APPROACH.

Marburg virus (MARV) is one of the deadliest zoonotic viruses, causing severe hemorrhagic fever in humans with high mortality rates. The development of an effective vaccine is crucial to prevent potential Marburg virus outbreaks. In this study, an in silico approach was employed to design an epitope-based vaccine to prevent MARV infections. The MARV proteins nominating NP, VP24, VP35, VP30, VP40, GP & Polymerase L was analyzed for antigenicity and non-allergenicity prediction, among these proteins VP30 protein has a 0.5636 (Probable Antigen) score and it was non-allergen. For that reason, VP30 was selected for further in silico analysis. After analysis it is found that the top ranked T-cell (MHC-I) epitopes LSKPPPPPK, ESSPTNHIPR, TQLPSKPHY, SPQDCGSPSL, FEAALWQGW, T-Cell (MHC-II) epitopes IHLDKGGQF, INTMTELHM, VTPTIYHET, YTNYHPRAR, YTGIHLDKG was epitopes & B-Cell epitopes SEIGKLDET, IHLDKGGQF, MNHENLPQDQNGV, PTCNRDHDLDNLTN was found non-toxic and non-allergen. The T-Cell (MHC-I) epitope TQLPSKPHY,T-Cell (MHC-II)epitope YTNYHPRAR & B-Cell epitope SEIGKLDET was found highly antigenic, non-toxic as well as non-allergen and it was selected for molecular docking analysis. The T-Cell (MHC-I) epitope TQLPSKPHY,T-Cell (MHC-II) epitope YTNYHPRAR shows strong structural similarity and potential binding affinity with antibody. The B-Cell epitope SEIGKLDET shows poor affinity towards antibody. In silico analysis indicate that both T-Cell epitopes becomes an effective peptide vaccine to prevent MARV infection. Our findings highlight the promise of in silico vaccine design in accelerating the development of vaccines against MARV, a highly pathogenic virus with no effective cure currently available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]