Immunoinformatics Approach in Designing a Novel Vaccine Using Epitopes from All the Structural Proteins of SARS-CoV-2
Leana Rich M. HerreraDepartment of Physical Sciences, College of Science, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Manila City, Philippines
Corresponding Author Email: lrmherrera@pup.edu.ph
Abstract: The rapid transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has resulted to the death of hundreds of thousands of people worldwide. With the devastating effects on the economy and healthcare system of many countries, it is crucial to acceleratevaccine development against SARS-CoV-2. Thus, thisworkutilizedimmunoinformaticsto efficiently design a novel multi-epitope vaccine that can potentially induce immune response through the immunogenic, and abundantly expressed structural proteins in SARS-CoV-2. Epitopes were screened and evaluated using various immunoinformatics tools and databases. Antigenicity, allergenicity, and population coverage were assessed. Epitopes were adjoined to form a single vaccine construct (Covax),linked with 50S ribosomal protein as an adjuvant. Physicochemical properties, cross-reactivity, antigenicity,andallergenicityof Covax were evaluated. The tertiary structure of Covax was modeled, refined and validated for docking with toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4). Binding affinity of Covax-TLR4 was estimated and compared with TLR4-adjuvant as control. Lastly,the immune response with Covax was simulated and compared withadjuvant alone. Total of 33 epitopes from S (21), E (3), M (5),and N (4)proteins were merged in Covax. These include epitopes on thereceptor-binding motif (RBM) of S protein known to beessential in the viral attachment. In silico evaluations classified Covax as stable, antigenic, and non-allergenic. Epitopes were estimated to have large worldwide population coverage, especially in areas with high infection rates, indicating broad potential efficacy of Covax as a vaccine for the most affected populations.Results in this work showed that Covax can bind to TLR4 whichindicates potential immunogenicity and superior properties necessary for a successful vaccine. Overall, this work efficiently minimized time, effort and cost in designing a candidate vaccine against SARS-CoV-2. In vitro and in vivo studies on Covax are anticipated.
Keywords: Epitopes; Immunoinformatics; In Silico; Receptor-Binding Motif; SARS-Cov-2; Vaccine Back to TOC