Immunoinformatics and computational approaches driven designing a novel vaccine candidate against Powassan virus
Abstract Powassan virus (POWV) is an arthropod-borne virus (arbovirus) capable of causing severe illness in humans for severe neurological complications, and its incidence has been on the rise in recent years due to climate change, posing a growing public health concern. Currently, no vaccines to pr...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2024-03-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-56554-9 |
| _version_ | 1797259338971086848 |
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| author | Truc Ly Nguyen Heebal Kim |
| author_facet | Truc Ly Nguyen Heebal Kim |
| author_sort | Truc Ly Nguyen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Powassan virus (POWV) is an arthropod-borne virus (arbovirus) capable of causing severe illness in humans for severe neurological complications, and its incidence has been on the rise in recent years due to climate change, posing a growing public health concern. Currently, no vaccines to prevent or medicines to treat POWV disease, emphasizing the urgent need for effective countermeasures. In this study, we utilize bioinformatics approaches to target proteins of POWV, including the capsid, envelope, and membrane proteins, to predict diverse B-cell and T-cell epitopes. These epitopes underwent screening for critical properties such as antigenicity, allergenicity, toxicity, and cytokine induction potential. Eight selected epitopes were then conjugated with adjuvants using various linkers, resulting in designing of a potentially stable and immunogenic vaccine candidate against POWV. Moreover, molecular docking, molecular dynamics simulations, and immune simulations revealed a stable interaction pattern with the immune receptor, suggesting the vaccine's potential to induce robust immune responses. In conclusion, our study provided a set of derived epitopes from POWV’s proteins, demonstrating the potential for a novel vaccine candidate against POWV. Further in vitro and in vivo studies are warranted to advance our efforts and move closer to the goal of combatting POWV and related arbovirus infections. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T23:07:51Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3192681b1f784d9aa826f15861512e20 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T23:07:51Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-3192681b1f784d9aa826f15861512e202024-03-17T12:21:46ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222024-03-0114111510.1038/s41598-024-56554-9Immunoinformatics and computational approaches driven designing a novel vaccine candidate against Powassan virusTruc Ly Nguyen0Heebal Kim1Department of Agricultural Biotechnology and Research Institute of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National UniversityDepartment of Agricultural Biotechnology and Research Institute of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National UniversityAbstract Powassan virus (POWV) is an arthropod-borne virus (arbovirus) capable of causing severe illness in humans for severe neurological complications, and its incidence has been on the rise in recent years due to climate change, posing a growing public health concern. Currently, no vaccines to prevent or medicines to treat POWV disease, emphasizing the urgent need for effective countermeasures. In this study, we utilize bioinformatics approaches to target proteins of POWV, including the capsid, envelope, and membrane proteins, to predict diverse B-cell and T-cell epitopes. These epitopes underwent screening for critical properties such as antigenicity, allergenicity, toxicity, and cytokine induction potential. Eight selected epitopes were then conjugated with adjuvants using various linkers, resulting in designing of a potentially stable and immunogenic vaccine candidate against POWV. Moreover, molecular docking, molecular dynamics simulations, and immune simulations revealed a stable interaction pattern with the immune receptor, suggesting the vaccine's potential to induce robust immune responses. In conclusion, our study provided a set of derived epitopes from POWV’s proteins, demonstrating the potential for a novel vaccine candidate against POWV. Further in vitro and in vivo studies are warranted to advance our efforts and move closer to the goal of combatting POWV and related arbovirus infections.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-56554-9Powassan virusArbovirusesMulti-epitope vaccineImmunoinformaticsZoonotic diseasesComputational vaccinology |
| spellingShingle | Truc Ly Nguyen Heebal Kim Immunoinformatics and computational approaches driven designing a novel vaccine candidate against Powassan virus Scientific Reports Powassan virus Arboviruses Multi-epitope vaccine Immunoinformatics Zoonotic diseases Computational vaccinology |
| title | Immunoinformatics and computational approaches driven designing a novel vaccine candidate against Powassan virus |
| title_full | Immunoinformatics and computational approaches driven designing a novel vaccine candidate against Powassan virus |
| title_fullStr | Immunoinformatics and computational approaches driven designing a novel vaccine candidate against Powassan virus |
| title_full_unstemmed | Immunoinformatics and computational approaches driven designing a novel vaccine candidate against Powassan virus |
| title_short | Immunoinformatics and computational approaches driven designing a novel vaccine candidate against Powassan virus |
| title_sort | immunoinformatics and computational approaches driven designing a novel vaccine candidate against powassan virus |
| topic | Powassan virus Arboviruses Multi-epitope vaccine Immunoinformatics Zoonotic diseases Computational vaccinology |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-56554-9 |
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