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Research & Reviews: A Journal of Bioinformatics

An Immuno-informatics Approach for the Design of Subunit Vaccine for Non-human Homolog Proteins of A.aegypti Species

  1. Tammanna Sahrawat
  2. Ritika Patial
  3. Devika Talwar

Abstract

Mosquito borne diseases account for a major fraction of vector-borne diseases that account for significant morbidity amongst the population worldwide. The prevalence rate of mosquitoes in the common habitable area is so high that even after the implementation of several eradication programs their disease-causing rate is still quite significant. A.aegypti and A.albopictus are two prominent species of genus Aedes, which transmit viruses causing several infectious diseases such as dengue, zika virus, chikungunya, and yellow fever. The spread of Aedes-borne illnesses can be prevented with the use of techniques targeting vectors specifically, human hosts and interaction between humans and vectors. Vector control techniques are primarily used because they provide direct or biological reduction/elimination of vectors while inflicting minimal impact on human hosts. Presently the availability of specific treatment for these infections is absent, only symptom targeting is the available approach. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to design a multi-epitope subunit vaccine from novel non-human homologs for vector control proteins for Aedes genus using an immuno-informatics approach. Sequences of the 6 novel targets for Aedes involved in vector specific processes such as host-seeking behavior, odorant receptors, oocyte formation and neuropeptide activity were obtained from UniProtKB followed by analysis with in-silico tools. Identification of T-cell and B-cell epitopes was done using NetCTL and IEDB resource server, while AntigenPro and Aller TOP were used to access antigenicity and allergenicity of the epitopes and vaccine construct. The tertiary structure of vaccine construct having 321 amino acid residues was predicted followed by Protein-protein docking with TLR-4 using ClusPro. The resulting structure obtained showed high binding energy and proper orientation suggesting strong interactions, indicating that the multi-epitope subunit vaccine construct may be able to trigger a significant immunological response.

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