Isfahan University of Medical Sciences

Science Communicator Platform

Stay connected! Follow us on X network (Twitter):
Share this content! On (X network) By
Insights Into the Biochemical Features and Immunogenic Epitopes of Common Bradyzoite Markers of the Ubiquitous Toxoplasma Gondii Publisher Pubmed



Asghari A1 ; Majidiani H2 ; Fatollahzadeh M3 ; Nemati T3 ; Shams M2 ; Azizi E4 ; Abdoli A5, 6
Authors
Show Affiliations
Authors Affiliations
  1. 1. Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
  2. 2. Zoonotic Diseases Research Center, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, Iran
  3. 3. Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
  4. 4. Department of Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, Iran
  5. 5. Zoonoses Research Center, Jahrom University of Medical Sciences, Jahrom, Iran
  6. 6. Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Jahrom University of Medical Sciences, Jahrom, Iran

Source: Infection, Genetics and Evolution Published:2021


Abstract

The widespread distribution of Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) infection and its harsh outcomes in pregnant women and immunocompromised patients lead researchers towards vaccination strategies. The present in silico investigation was done to reveal biophysical properties and immunogenic epitopes of six bradyzoite markers for rational vaccine design in future. For this purpose, different web servers were used to predict antigenicity, allergenicity, solubility, physicochemical properties, post-translational modification sites (PTMs), the presence of signal peptide and transmembrane domains. Moreover, the secondary and tertiary structures of the proteins were revealed followed by refinement and validation. Finally, NetCTL server was used to predict cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) epitopes, with subsequent immunogenicity analysis. Also, IEDB server was utilized to predict helper T-lymphocyte (HTL) epitopes, followed by IFN-γ and IL-4 induction, antigenicity and population coverage analysis. As well, several linear antigenic B-cell epitopes were found, with good water solubility and without allergenicity. Totally, these proteins showed appropriate antigenicity, abundant PTMs as well as many CTL, HTL and B-cell epitopes, which could be directed for future vaccination studies in the context of multi-epitope vaccine design. © 2021
Other Related Docs
32. Computational Design of a Potential Therapeutic Peptide Against Spike Protein of Sars-Cov-2, Journal of Computational Biophysics and Chemistry (2021)
49. Human Anti-Toxoplasma Antibodies Attach Strongly to Breast Cancer Cells, International Journal of Cancer Management (2023)