Development of a Chimeric Vaccine Candidate Based on Toxoplasma Gondii Major Surface Antigen 1 and Apicoplast Proteins Using Comprehensive Immunoinformatics Approaches Publisher Pubmed



Asghari A¹ ; Shamsinia S² ; Nourmohammadi H^{3, 10} ; Majidiani H³ ; Fatollahzadeh M⁴ ; Nemati T⁴ ; Irannejad H^{5, 6} ; Nouri HR^{7, 8} ; Ghasemi E⁹ ; Shams M³
Source: European Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences Published:2021

Abstract

This study was aimed at designing and evaluation of a multimeric vaccine construct against Toxoplasma gondii via utilization of SAG1 along with apicoplast ribosomal proteins (S2, S5 and L11). Top-ranked MHC-I and MHC-II binding as well as shared, immunodominant linear B-cell epitopes were predicted and joined together via appropriate linkers. Also, TLR-4 agonist (RS-09 synthetic protein) and His-tag were added to the N- and C-terminal of the vaccine sequence. The finally-engineered chimeric vaccine had a length of 291 amino acids with a molecular weight of 31.46 kDa. Physico-chemical features showed a soluble, highly-antigenic and non-allergenic candidate. Secondary and tertiary structures were predicted, and subsequent analyses confirmed the construct stability that was capable to properly interact with human TLR-4. Immunoinformatics-based simulation displayed potent stimulation of T- and B-cell mediated immune responses upon vaccination with the proposed multi-epitope candidate. In conclusion, obtained information demonstrated a highly antigenic vaccine candidate, which could develop high levels of IFN-γ and other components of cellular immune profile, and can be directed for toxoplasmosis prophylactic purposes. © 2021 Elsevier B.V.