Construction of a multiepitope vaccine candidate against Fasciola hepatica: an in silico design using various immunogenic excretory/secretory antigens

ABSTRACT

Background

Fasciola hepatica is an important pathogen that causes liver fluke disease in definitive hosts such as livestock animals and humans. Various excretory/secretory products have been used in serological diagnosis and vaccination studies targeting fasciolosis. There are no commercial vaccines against fasciolosis yet. Bioinformatic analysis based on computational methods have lower cost and provide faster output compared to conventional vaccine antigen discovery techniques. The aim of this study was to predict B- and T-cell specific epitopes of four excretory/secretory antigens (Kunitz-type serine protease inhibitor, cathepsin L1, helminth defense molecule, and glutathione S-transferase) of Fasciola hepatica and to construct a multiepitope vaccine candidate against fasciolosis.

Methods and Results

Initially, nonallergic and the highest antigenic B- and T- cell epitopes were selected and then, physico-chemical parameters, secondary and tertiary structures of designed multiepitope vaccine candidate were predicted. Tertiary structure was refined and validated using online bioinformatic tools. Linear and discontinuous B-cell epitopes and disulfide bonds were determined. Finally, molecular docking analysis for MHC-I and MHC-II receptors was performed.

Conclusion

This multi-epitope vaccine candidate antigen, with high immunological properties, can be considered as a promising vaccine candidate for animal experiments and wet lab studies.

KEYWORDS:

• Fasciola hepatica
• excretory/secretory (E/S) antigens
• in silico analysis
• multiepitope vaccine
• vaccine development

Funding

This paper was not funded.

Author contributions

Conception and design: MA, MA; Computational work: MA, MA, MK; Data Analysis and Curation: HC, MD; Original Draft Preparation: MA, MA; Writing- Reviewing and Editing; MA, MA, MK, HC, MD. The manuscript has been read and approved by all authors.

Declaration of interest

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed here.