Bioinformatics-based prediction and screening of immunogenic epitopes of Toxoplasma gondii rhoptry proteins 7, 21 and 22 as candidate vaccine target

Introduction: Toxoplasmosis is a well-known zoonotic disease caused by Toxoplasma gondii. The main causes of the disease range from eating undercooked or contaminated meat and shellfish to cleaning litter trays into which cats that excreted toxoplasma via faeces. This pathogen can live for a very lo...

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Main Authors: Fariha Ayub, Haroon Ahmed, Tehreem Sohail, Khuram Shahzad, Figen Celik, Xu Wang, Sami Simsek, Jianping Cao
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2023-07-01
Series:Heliyon
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844023053847
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author Fariha Ayub
Haroon Ahmed
Tehreem Sohail
Khuram Shahzad
Figen Celik
Xu Wang
Sami Simsek
Jianping Cao
author_facet Fariha Ayub
Haroon Ahmed
Tehreem Sohail
Khuram Shahzad
Figen Celik
Xu Wang
Sami Simsek
Jianping Cao
author_sort Fariha Ayub
collection DOAJ
description Introduction: Toxoplasmosis is a well-known zoonotic disease caused by Toxoplasma gondii. The main causes of the disease range from eating undercooked or contaminated meat and shellfish to cleaning litter trays into which cats that excreted toxoplasma via faeces. This pathogen can live for a very long time, possibly a lifetime, within the bodies of humans and other animals. Aims and objectives: This study aimed to predict and analyse candidate immunogenic epitopes for vaccine development by evaluating the physio-chemical properties, multiple sequence alignment, secondary and tertiary structures, phosphorylation sites, transmembrane domains, and signal peptides, of T. gondii rhoptry proteins ROP7, ROP21, and ROP22 using bioinformatics tools. Methods: To find immunogenic epitopes of rhoptry proteins, numerous bioinformatics web servers were used containing multiple sequence alignment, physiochemical properties, antigenicity and allergenicity, post-translational modification sites (PTMs), signal peptides, transmembrane domains, secondary and tertiary structures, and screening of predicted epitopes. We evaluated immunogenic linear B-cell epitopes as candidate proteins for vaccine development. Results: Nine epitopes were identified for each protein, and analysis of immunogenicity, revealed three candidate epitopes for ROP7, one for ROP21, and four for ROP22. Among all candidate epitopes, ROP22 contained the most immunogenic epitopes with immunogenicity score of 0.50575. Conclusion: We acquired detailed information on predicted immunogenic epitopes using in-silico methods. The results provide a foundation for further experimental analysis of toxoplasmosis, and potential vaccine development.
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spelling doaj.art-dc8769116e77412db8f35401d93cd3e32023-07-27T05:58:47ZengElsevierHeliyon2405-84402023-07-0197e18176Bioinformatics-based prediction and screening of immunogenic epitopes of Toxoplasma gondii rhoptry proteins 7, 21 and 22 as candidate vaccine targetFariha Ayub0Haroon Ahmed1Tehreem Sohail2Khuram Shahzad3Figen Celik4Xu Wang5Sami Simsek6Jianping Cao7Department of Biosciences, COMSATS University Islamabad (CUI), Park Road, Chakh Shahzad, Islamabad, PakistanDepartment of Biosciences, COMSATS University Islamabad (CUI), Park Road, Chakh Shahzad, Islamabad, Pakistan; Corresponding author.Department of Biosciences, COMSATS University Islamabad (CUI), Park Road, Chakh Shahzad, Islamabad, PakistanDepartment of Biosciences, COMSATS University Islamabad (CUI), Park Road, Chakh Shahzad, Islamabad, PakistanDepartment of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Firat University, Elazig, TurkeyNational Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Chinese Center for Tropical Diseases Research), Key Laboratory of Parasite and Vector Biology, National Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China, WHO Collaborating Center for Tropical Diseases, Shanghai, ChinaDepartment of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Firat University, Elazig, TurkeyNational Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Chinese Center for Tropical Diseases Research), Key Laboratory of Parasite and Vector Biology, National Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China, WHO Collaborating Center for Tropical Diseases, Shanghai, China; The School of Global Health, Chinese Center for Tropical Diseases Research, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China; Corresponding author. National Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Chinese Center for Tropical Diseases Research), Key Laboratory of Parasite and Vector Biology, National Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China, WHO Collaborating Center for Tropical Diseases, Shanghai, China.Introduction: Toxoplasmosis is a well-known zoonotic disease caused by Toxoplasma gondii. The main causes of the disease range from eating undercooked or contaminated meat and shellfish to cleaning litter trays into which cats that excreted toxoplasma via faeces. This pathogen can live for a very long time, possibly a lifetime, within the bodies of humans and other animals. Aims and objectives: This study aimed to predict and analyse candidate immunogenic epitopes for vaccine development by evaluating the physio-chemical properties, multiple sequence alignment, secondary and tertiary structures, phosphorylation sites, transmembrane domains, and signal peptides, of T. gondii rhoptry proteins ROP7, ROP21, and ROP22 using bioinformatics tools. Methods: To find immunogenic epitopes of rhoptry proteins, numerous bioinformatics web servers were used containing multiple sequence alignment, physiochemical properties, antigenicity and allergenicity, post-translational modification sites (PTMs), signal peptides, transmembrane domains, secondary and tertiary structures, and screening of predicted epitopes. We evaluated immunogenic linear B-cell epitopes as candidate proteins for vaccine development. Results: Nine epitopes were identified for each protein, and analysis of immunogenicity, revealed three candidate epitopes for ROP7, one for ROP21, and four for ROP22. Among all candidate epitopes, ROP22 contained the most immunogenic epitopes with immunogenicity score of 0.50575. Conclusion: We acquired detailed information on predicted immunogenic epitopes using in-silico methods. The results provide a foundation for further experimental analysis of toxoplasmosis, and potential vaccine development.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844023053847Toxoplasma gondiiRhoptry proteinsROP7ROP21ROP22Bioinformatics
spellingShingle Fariha Ayub
Haroon Ahmed
Tehreem Sohail
Khuram Shahzad
Figen Celik
Xu Wang
Sami Simsek
Jianping Cao
Bioinformatics-based prediction and screening of immunogenic epitopes of Toxoplasma gondii rhoptry proteins 7, 21 and 22 as candidate vaccine target
Heliyon
Toxoplasma gondii
Rhoptry proteins
ROP7
ROP21
ROP22
Bioinformatics
title Bioinformatics-based prediction and screening of immunogenic epitopes of Toxoplasma gondii rhoptry proteins 7, 21 and 22 as candidate vaccine target
title_full Bioinformatics-based prediction and screening of immunogenic epitopes of Toxoplasma gondii rhoptry proteins 7, 21 and 22 as candidate vaccine target
title_fullStr Bioinformatics-based prediction and screening of immunogenic epitopes of Toxoplasma gondii rhoptry proteins 7, 21 and 22 as candidate vaccine target
title_full_unstemmed Bioinformatics-based prediction and screening of immunogenic epitopes of Toxoplasma gondii rhoptry proteins 7, 21 and 22 as candidate vaccine target
title_short Bioinformatics-based prediction and screening of immunogenic epitopes of Toxoplasma gondii rhoptry proteins 7, 21 and 22 as candidate vaccine target
title_sort bioinformatics based prediction and screening of immunogenic epitopes of toxoplasma gondii rhoptry proteins 7 21 and 22 as candidate vaccine target
topic Toxoplasma gondii
Rhoptry proteins
ROP7
ROP21
ROP22
Bioinformatics
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844023053847
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