Prediction of promiscuous multiepitope-based peptide vaccine against RdRp of rotavirus using immunoinformatics studies.

Abstract

Rotavirus, a dsRNA virus in the Reoviridae family, shows a segmented genome. The VP1 gene encodes the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp). This study aims to develop a multiepitope-based vaccine targeting RdRp using immunoinformatic approaches. In this study, 100 available nucleotide sequences of VP1-Rotavirus belonging to different strains across the world were retrieved from NCBI database. The selected sequences were aligned, and a global consensus sequence was developed by using CLC work bench. The study involved immunoinformatic approaches and molecular docking studies to reveal the promiscuous epitopes that can be eventually used as active vaccine candidates for Rotavirus. In total, 27 highly immunogenic, antigenic, and non-allergenic T-cell and B-cell epitopes were predicted for the Multiepitope vaccine (MEV) against rotavirus. It was also observed that MEV can prove to be effective worldwide due to its high population coverage, demonstrating the consistency of this vaccine. Moreover, there is a high docking interaction and immunological response with a binding score of -50.2 kcal/mol, suggesting the vaccine's efficacy. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) also suggest that the vaccine is physiologically and immunologically effective. Collectively, our data point to an effective MEV against rotavirus that can effectively reduce viral infections and improve the health status worldwide.