Innovative Approaches to In-Silico Vaccine Design Against Dengue Virus Type 2

Subject Areas : Biotechnological Journal of Environmental Microbiology

Mahdieh SobhZahedi ¹ , Mohammad Hossein YektaKooshali ² , Hojjatola Zamani ³

1 - Department of Biology, Faculty of Basic Sciences, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran
2 - Medical Biotechnology Research Center, School of Paramedicine, Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, Iran.
3 - Department of Biology, Faculty of Basic Sciences, Guilan University, Rasht, Iran

Received: 2023-09-29 Accepted : 2023-10-21 Published : 2023-10-25

Keywords: Dengue virus type 2, vaccine design, multiepitope vaccine, immunoinformatics,

Abstract :

 

Introduction: Dengue virus type 2 (DENV-2) poses a continuous and growing public health challenge. This study aimed to develop a vaccine candidate with the potential to effectively DENV-2, utilizing bioinformatics servers for the design process.

 

Methods: A multi-faceted in silico approach to design a novel vaccine against DENV-2, focusing on the identification of immunogenic epitopes crucial for eliciting robust immune responses was utilized. The viral genome was analyzed to identify effective epitopes. Candidates' epitopes for vaccine design were selected based on their characteristics, such as being non-toxic, non-allergenic, and possessing high immunogenicity. Subsequently, the predicted epitopes were joined with adjuvants, linkers, and a his-tag to formulate the vaccine construct. Following this, a comprehensive evaluation of the vaccine was conducted.

 

Results: After the investigations, a non-toxic, non-allergenic protein with an antigenic score of 0.7776 was selected as a candidate for vaccine design. 4 epitopes for B cells and 19 epitopes for T cells were predicted, and the vaccine candidate was completed by combining these epitopes. The vaccine structure was predicted to be non-toxic, non-allergenic, and had a favorable immunogenicity score of 0.7044. Furthermore, the designed vaccine successfully passed all virtual assessments, which encompassed the analysis of its physical and chemical properties, as well as evaluations of its secondary and tertiary structures.

 

Conclusion:  Based on the results, this multi-epitope peptide can be used as a promising vaccine candidate that warrants further development. Ultimately, this study makes a significant contribution to the overarching aim of controlling and preventing dengue fever, opening avenues for innovative vaccine strategies that could substantially lessen the global impact of this disease. Additional research is necessary to evaluate the functional characteristics, conduct in vitro and in vivo experiments, explore potential applications, and perform animal model studies to validate the safety, efficacy, and long-term effects of the vaccine formulation.

 

 

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