Immunoinformatics for Novel Multi-Epitope Vaccine Development in Canine Parvovirus Infections
Bashudeb Paul,
Jahangir Alam,
Mridha Md. Kamal Hossain,
Syeda Farjana Hoque,
Md. Nazmul Islam Bappy,
Hafsa Akter,
Nadim Ahmed,
Margia Akter,
Mohammad Ali Zinnah,
Shobhan Das,
Md. Mukthar Mia,
Md. Shafiullah Parvej,
Sonjoy Sarkar,
Hiren Ghosh,
Mahmudul Hasan,
Hossam M. Ashour,
Md. Masudur Rahman
Affiliations
Bashudeb Paul
Department of Anatomy and Histology, Faculty of Veterinary, Animal and Biomedical Sciences, Sylhet Agricultural University, Sylhet 3100, Bangladesh
Jahangir Alam
Animal Biotechnology Division, National Institute of Biotechnology, Dhaka 1349, Bangladesh
Mridha Md. Kamal Hossain
Animal Biotechnology Division, National Institute of Biotechnology, Dhaka 1349, Bangladesh
Syeda Farjana Hoque
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221, USA
Md. Nazmul Islam Bappy
Department of Animal and Fish Biotechnology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, Sylhet Agricultural University, Sylhet 3100, Bangladesh
Hafsa Akter
Department of Biochemistry and Chemistry, Faculty of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, Sylhet Agricultural University, Sylhet 3100, Bangladesh
Nadim Ahmed
Faculty of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, Sylhet Agricultural University, Sylhet 3100, Bangladesh
Margia Akter
Department of Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary, Animal and Biomedical Sciences, Sylhet Agricultural University, Sylhet 3100, Bangladesh
Mohammad Ali Zinnah
Department of Microbiology and Public Health, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, Gazipur 1706, Bangladesh
Shobhan Das
Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA 30458, USA
Md. Mukthar Mia
Department of Poultry Science, Faculty of Veterinary, Animal and Biomedical Sciences, Sylhet Agricultural University, Sylhet 3100, Bangladesh
Md. Shafiullah Parvej
Faculty of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Gono University, Savar 1344, Bangladesh
Sonjoy Sarkar
Department of Anatomy and Histology, Faculty of Veterinary, Animal and Biomedical Sciences, Sylhet Agricultural University, Sylhet 3100, Bangladesh
Hiren Ghosh
Institute for Infection Prevention and Hospital Epidemiology, Medical Center, University of Freiburg, 79106 Freiburg, Germany
Mahmudul Hasan
Department of Pharmaceuticals and Industrial Biotechnology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, Sylhet Agricultural University, Sylhet 3100, Bangladesh
Hossam M. Ashour
Department of Integrative Biology, College of Arts and Sciences, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, FL 33701, USA
Md. Masudur Rahman
Department of Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary, Animal and Biomedical Sciences, Sylhet Agricultural University, Sylhet 3100, Bangladesh
Canine parvovirus (CPV-2) is one of the most important pathogens of dogs of all ages, causing pandemic infections that are characterized by fatal hemorrhagic enteritis. The CPV-2 vaccine is recommended as a core vaccine for pet animals. Despite the intensive practice of active immunization, CPV-2 remains a global threat. In this study, a multi-epitope vaccine against CPV-2 was designed, targeting the highly conserved capsid protein (VP2) via in silico approaches. Several immunoinformatics methods, such as epitope screening, molecular docking, and simulation were used to design a potential vaccine construct. The partial protein sequences of the VP2 gene of CPV-2 and protein sequences retrieved from the NCBI were screened to predict highly antigenic proteins through antigenicity, trans-membrane-topology screening, an allergenicity assessment, and a toxicity analysis. Homologous VP2 protein sequences typically linked to the disease were identified using NCBI BLAST, in which four conserved regions were preferred. Overall, 10 epitopes, DPIGGKTGI, KEFDTDLKP, GTDPDDVQ, GGTNFGYIG, GTFYFDCKP, NRALGLPP, SGTPTN, LGLPPFLNSL, IGGKTG, and VPPVYPN, were selected from the conserved regions to design the vaccine construct. The molecular docking demonstrated the higher binding affinity of these epitopes with dog leukocyte antigen (DLA) molecules. The selected epitopes were linked with Salmonella enterica flagellin FliC adjuvants, along with the PADRE sequence, by GGS linkers to construct a vaccine candidate with 272 nucleotides. The codon adaptation and in silico cloning showed that the generated vaccine can be expressed by the E. coli strain, K12, and the sequence of the vaccine construct showed no similarities with dog protein. Our results suggest that the vaccine construct might be useful in preventing canine parvoviral enteritis (CPE) in dogs. Further in vitro and in vivo experiments are needed for the validation of the vaccine candidate.
