Immunoselective progression of a multi-epitope-based subunit vaccine candidate to convey protection against the parasite Onchocercalupi

Abstract

Globalization has resulted in an increasing worldwide movement of humans and animals as well as changes in the external environment, temperature, and social interactions, resulting in the accelerated emergence of new diseases in humans and dogs, such as Onchocerca lupi-caused ocular onchocerciasis. Presently, zoonotic onchocerciasis affects 15.5 million people globally; however, the lack of effective anthelmintics and vaccinations highlighted the disease as a global public health concern. Therefore, the current study offers computational methods for anticipating and creating a multi-epitope subunit vaccine targeting Onchocerca lupi by utilizing suitable linkers and adjuvants to combine CTL, HTL, and BCL epitopes. Three different vaccines (V1, V2, and V3) were designed using three distinct adjuvants and then the vaccine constructs antigenicity, solubility, and non-allergenicity were determined. Then, the physicochemical characteristics of the constructed vaccine candidates were analyzed, and also the tertiary structure of the vaccines was anticipated, which was later verified and refined. Molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation results showed that the V1 vaccine constructs expected affinity and binding free energy for the dimeric state of human Toll-like receptor-4 (hTLR-4) were promising. These results indicate that the suggested vaccine candidate could probably enhance the immune response to Onchocerca lupi infection. The results should be confirmed in experimental studies.