Human Coronavirus Spike Protein Based Multi-Epitope Vaccine against COVID-19 and Potential Future Zoonotic Coronaviruses by Using Immunoinformatic Approaches
Zulqarnain Baloch,
Aqsa Ikram,
Saba Shamim,
Ayesha Obaid,
Faryal Mehwish Awan,
Anam Naz,
Bisma Rauff,
Khadija Gilani,
Javed Anver Qureshi
Affiliations
Zulqarnain Baloch
Faculty of Life Science and Technology, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650500, China
Aqsa Ikram
Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (IMBB), University of Lahore (UOL), Lahore 54000, Pakistan
Saba Shamim
Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (IMBB), University of Lahore (UOL), Lahore 54000, Pakistan
Ayesha Obaid
Department of Medical Lab Technology, University of Haripur (UOH), Haripur 22620, Pakistan
Faryal Mehwish Awan
Department of Medical Lab Technology, University of Haripur (UOH), Haripur 22620, Pakistan
Anam Naz
Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (IMBB), University of Lahore (UOL), Lahore 54000, Pakistan
Bisma Rauff
Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Engineering and Technology (UET) Lahore, Narowal Campus, Narowal 51601, Pakistan
Khadija Gilani
Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (IMBB), University of Lahore (UOL), Lahore 54000, Pakistan
Javed Anver Qureshi
Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (IMBB), University of Lahore (UOL), Lahore 54000, Pakistan
Zoonotic coronaviruses (CoV) have emerged twice and have caused severe respiratory diseases in humans. Due to the frequent outbreaks of different human coronaviruses (HCoVs), the development of a pan-HCoV vaccine is of great importance. Various conserved epitopes shared by HCoVs are reported to induce cross-reactive T-cell responses. Therefore, this study aimed to design a multi-epitope vaccine, targeting the HCoV spike protein. Genetic analysis revealed that the spike region is highly conserved among SARS-CoV-2, bat SL-CoV, and SARS-CoV. By employing the immunoinformatic approach, we prioritized 20 MHC I and 10 MHCII conserved epitopes to design a multi-epitope vaccine. This vaccine candidate is anticipated to strongly elicit both humoral and cell-mediated immune responses. These results warrant further development of this vaccine into real-world application.
