A new approach for B-cell epitope prediction in viral proteins

Prediction of epitopes in viral proteins is helpful for the design of immunogenicpeptides, new generation of vaccines and diagnostic reagents. Unfortunately, there are atleast two constraints on the interpretation of the earlier predictive methods. In the firstplace, the earlier plots were based on experimental findings in general proteins, and

Antigen epitopes of animal coronaviruses:a mini-review

Coronaviruses are widespread in nature and can infect mammals and poultry,making them a public health concern.Globally,prevention and control of emerging and re-emerging animal coronaviruses is a great challenge.The mecha-nisms of virus-mediated immune responses have important implications for research on virus prevention and control.The antigenic epitope is a chemical group capable of stimulating the production of antibodies or sensitized lympho-cytes,playing an important role in antiviral immune responses.Thus,it can shed light on the development of diagnos-tic methods and novel vaccines.Here,we have reviewed advances in animal coronavirus antigenic epitope research,aiming to provide a reference for the prevention and control of animal and human coronaviruses.

Advances of Bioinformatics Tools Applied in Virus Epitopes Prediction

In recent years,the in silico epitopes prediction tools have facilitated the progress of vaccines development significantly and many have been applied to predict epitopes in viruses successfully. Herein,a general overview of different tools currently available,including T cell and B cell epitopes prediction tools,is presented. And the principles of different prediction algorithms are reviewed briefly. Finally,several examples are present to illustrate the application of the prediction tools.

Prediction of T cell and B cell epitopes of the 22-, 47-, 56-, and 58-kDa proteins of Orientia tsutsugamushi

Objective:To predict B cell and T cell epitopes of 22-kDa,47-kDa,56-kDa and 58-kDa proteins.Methods:The sequences of 22-kDa,47-kDa,56-kDa and 58-kDa proteins which were derived from Orientia tsutsugamushi were analyzed by SOPMA,DNAstar,Bcepred,ABCpred,NetMHC,NetMHCⅡand IEDB.The 58-kDa tertiary structure model was built by MODELLER9.17.Results:The 22-kDa B-cell epitopes were located at positions 194-200,20-26 and 143-154,whereas the T-cell epitopes were located at positions 154-174,95-107,17-25 and 57-65.The 47-kD a protein B-cell epitopes were at positions 413-434,150-161 and 283-322,whereas the T-cell epitopes were located at positions 129-147,259-267,412-420 and 80-88.The 56-kDa protein B-cell epitopes were at positions 167-173,410-419 and 101-108,whereas the T-cell epitopes were located at positions 88-104,429-439,232-240 and 194-202.The 58-kDa protein B-cell epitopes were at positions 312-317,540-548 and 35-55,whereas the T-cell epitopes were located at positions 415-434,66-84 and 214-230.Conclusions:We identified candidate epitopes of 22-kDa,47-kDa,56-kDa and 58-kDa proteins from Orientia tsutsugamushi.In the case of 58-kDa,the dominant antigen is displayed on tertiary structure by homology modeling.Our findings will help target additional recombinant antigens with strong specificity,high sensitivity,and stable expression and will aid in their isolation and purification.

Prediction of promiscuous T-cell epitopes in the Zika virus polyprotein:An in silico approach

Objective:To predict immunogenic promiscuous T-cell epitopes from the polyprotein of the Zika virus using a range of bioinformatics tools.To date,no epitope data are available for the Zika virus in the IEDB database.Methods:We retrieved nearly 54 full length polyprotein sequences of the Zika virus from the NCBI database belonging to different outbreaks.A consensus sequence was then used to predict the promiscuous T cell epitopes that bind MHC 1 and MHC II alleles using Propred1 and Propred immunoinformatic algorithms respectively.The antigencity predicted score was also calculated for each predicted epitope using the Vaxi Jen 2.0 tool.Results:By using Pro Pred1,23 antigenic epitopes for HLA class I and 48 antigenic epitopes for HLA class II were predicted from the consensus polyprotein sequence of Zika virus.The greatest number of MHC class I binding epitopes were projected within the NS5(21%),followed by Envelope(17%).For MHC class II,greatest number of predicted epitopes were in NS5(19%) followed by the Envelope,NS1 and NS2(17% each).A variety of epitopes with good binding affinity,promiscuity and antigenicity were predicted for both the HLA classes.Conclusion:The predicted conserved promiscuous T-cell epitopes examined in this study were reported for the first time and will contribute to the imminent design of Zika virus vaccine candidates,which will be able to induce a broad range of immune responses in a heterogeneous HLA population.However,our results can be verified and employed in future efficacious vaccine formulations only after successful experimental studies.

An immunoglobulin Y that specifically binds to an in silico-predicted unique epitope of Zika virus non-structural 1 antigen

Objective:To identify unique immunogenic epitopes of Zika virus non-structural 1(NS1)antigen and produce immunoglobulin Y(IgY)for potential use in he diagnosis of of Zika virus infection.Methods:Immunogenic epitopes were identified using in silico B-cell epitope prediction.A synthetic peptide analog of the predicted epitope was used to induce antipeptide IgY production in hens which was purified using affinity chromatography.Presence of purified IgY and its binding specificity were performed by gel electrophoresis and ELISA,respectively.Results:Out of the nine continuous epitopes identified,the sequence at position 193-208(LKVREDYSLECDPAVI)was selected and used to produce anti-peptide IgY.The produced IgY was found to bind to the synthetic analog of the Zika virus NS1 immunogenic epitope but not to other flaviviruses and random peptides from other pathogens.Conclusions:In this study,we identified an immunogenic epitope unique to Zika virus that can be used to develop a serodiagnostic tool that specifically detect Zika virus infection.

Bioinformatics analysis of the structure and linear B-cell epitopes of aquaporin-3 from Schistosoma japonicum

Objective:To analyze the structure of aquaporins-3(AQP-3) from Schistosoma japonicum(SJAQP-3) using bioinformalical methods,and to provid of references for vaccine targets research.Methods:Protparam,BepiPred,TMHMM Server,MLRC,Geno3d,DNA star software packages were used to predict the physical and chemical properties,hydrophilicity plot, flexibility regions,antigenic index,surface probability plot,secondary structure,and tertiary structure of amino acid sequence of SJAQP-3.Results:SJAQP-3 had six transmembrane regions and two half-spanning helices that form a central channel.The half-spanning helices fold into the centre of the channel.Either of the half-spanning helix had a conserved motif of NPA common to all aquaporins.Predicted linear B-Cell epitopes were most likely at the N-terminal amino acid residues of Saa-7aa,59aa- 62aa,225aa-230aa,282aa -288aa,294aa -29Saa and 305aa -307aa area.59aa- 62aa,22Saa-230aa located outside the membrane,the others located inside the cell.Conclusions:SJAQP-3 is a integral membrane protein in Schistosoma japonicum tegument.There are six potential epitopes in SJ AQP-3.It might be a potential molecular target for the development of vaccines.

Helicobacter pylori specific immune response induced by conservative flagellin linear B-cell epitope

AIM:To testify the immunogenicity of a conservative B-cell linear epitope of Helicobacter pylori ( H pylori) flagellin A. METHODS: Different programs were used to analyze the secondary structure, molecular hydropathy, and surface accessibility of Hpyloriflagellin A. Linear B-cell epitopes were estimated based on the structural and physiochemical information. Analysis of residue divergence was proposed to screen a conservative linear epitope. The 29-peptide (Pep29mer) synthesized by chemical method, including the predicted conservative B-cell epitope and a known K^2d compatible T-cell epitope, was used to immunize mice, and then H pylori-specific antibodies were detected by ELISA. RESULTS: Based on the analyses of divergent amino acid residues, structural and physiochemical characteristics, it was strongly suggested that the short fragment NDSDGR was the core of a conservative linear epitope in flagellin A. Animals immunized by Pep29mer acquired efficient immune response. In detail, serum Hpylori-specific IgA and IgGl increased significantly in immunized group, while IgG2a only had an insignificant change. Hpylori-specific IgA in gastrointestinal flushing fluid also increased significantly. CONCLUSION: The conservative short fragment NDSDGR is the core of a linear B-cell epitope of flagellin A.

Theoretical Study of Continuous B-Cell Epitopes with Developed BP Neural Network

In order to identify continuous B-cell epitopes effectively and to increase the success rate of experimental identification, the modified Back Propagation artificial neural network (BP neural network) was used to predict the continuous B-cell epitopes, and finally the predictive model for the B-cells epitopes was established. Comparing with the other predictive models, the prediction performance of this model is more excellent (AUC = 0.723). For the purpose of verifying the performance of the model, the prediction to the SWISS PROT NUMBER: P08677 was carried on, and the satisfying results were obtained.

Identification of the epitopes on HCV core protein recognized by HLA-A2 restricted cytotoxic T lymphocytes

AIM: To identify hepatitis C virus(HCV) core protein epitopes recognized by HLA-A2 restricted cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL). METHODS: Utilizing the method of computer prediction followed by a 4h(51)Cr release assay confirmation. RESULTS: The results showed that peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) obtained from two HLA-A2 positive donors who were infected with HCV could lyse autologous target cells labeled with peptide "ALAHGVRAL (core 150-158)". The rates of specific lysis of the cells from the two donors were 37.5% and 15.8%, respectively. Blocking of the CTL response with anti-CD4 mAb caused no significant decrease of the specific lysis. But blocking of CTL response with anti-CD8 mAb could abolish the lysis. CONCLUSION: The peptide (core 150-158) is the candidate epitope recognized by HLAA2 restricted CTL.

Stepwise prediction and statistical screening:B-cell epitopes on neuraminidase of human avian H_5N_1 virus

The B-cell epitopes of virus are associated with the antiviral drug and the vaccine screening. As the nucleotide sequences of neuraminidase (NA) of stain GD-01-06 were sequenced, we predicted the α-helix and β-fold structure and the indexes of the flexible regions of secondary structure of NA with methods of the Hydrophilicity plot by Kyte-Doolittle, the Surface probability plot by Emini and the Antigenic index by Jameson-Wolf, and then screened statistically the parameters to predict B-cell epitopes by the Hierarchical cluster and the Bivariate correlation and the quartiles with SPSS 13.0. The impact of variation of amino acids in NA on its epitopes was analyzed. The predictive results were evaluated by Wu’s Antigenic Index and SWISS-MODEL. We found that the most possible epitopes on NA were located within or nearby its N-terminal Nos. 120―137, 81―84, 408―415, 273―282, 429―432, 356―368, 46―55, 146―155, 341―350 and 198―209, which were the dominant regions of NA epitopes. Peptide 120―137 including the glycoprotein domain (NGT126―128) was first chosen as the B-cell epitopes on NA. NA in H5N1 strain isolated after 2003 lacked in No. 53 amino acid (I), resulting in an increase in the surface flexible region of NA in GD-01-06 and an enlargement to their epitope regions (VEP46―48→ VEPISNTNFL46―55). Conclusively, prediction of the B-cell epitopes on the NA based on multiple parameters is useful for researches on the molecular immunology and drug screening and immuno-prophylaxis. A deletion of No. 53 amino acid (I) in NA in strain GD-01-06 might increase its antigenicity.

新型冠状病毒E蛋白B细胞表位的预测及鉴定

目的利用生物信息学方法预测SARS-CoV-2 E蛋白B细胞表位,并利用小鼠多抗血清、人新型冠状病毒阳性血清等进行验证,以明确SARS-CoV-2 E蛋白的优势B细胞表位。方法使用SOPMA、Expasy、SWISS-MODEL及IEDB数据库和BepiPred-2.0等软件预测SARS-CoV-2 E蛋白的结构及B细胞表位;通过大肠杆菌系统表达并纯化GST标签重组表位蛋白片段,以Western blotting和间接ELISA方法检测表位蛋白与小鼠和人SARS-CoV-2 E蛋白阳性多抗血清的反应性,以初步鉴定SARS-CoV-2 E蛋白的B细胞表位。结果表位预测结果显示,E蛋白含有线性B细胞表位Ser6-Val14和Tyr57-Pro71,构象表位涉及的氨基酸序列为Glu8-Val14、Leu39-Tyr59、Ser60-Leu65;表达并纯化含有预测表位的E蛋白片段E1(Ser6-Val14表位)、E3(Tyr57-Pro71)以及阴性对照片段E2(不含表位序列),Western blotting和间接ELISA结果均显示抗E蛋白小鼠多抗和人新型冠状病毒阳性血清只与E1、E3蛋白片段呈阳性反应而与E2蛋白片段均为阴性反应,显示E蛋白线性B细胞表位预测正确。结论本研究成功预测并初步鉴定出SARS-CoV-2 E蛋白2个线性B细胞表位,为新型冠状病毒疫苗制备和免疫应答特性分析等提供参考。

湖南一株猪非典型瘟病毒的鉴定及其NS5B和E2基因序列分析

随机挑选湖南某规模化猪场出现“抖抖病”的新生仔猪,采集血清样本,用可扩增猪非典型瘟病毒(APPV)的NS5B基因和E2基因引物进行RT-PCR鉴定,对PCR扩增产物测序。随后利用MegAlign软件分析NS5B和E2基因序列的同源性,预测E2蛋白部分结构,并使用MEGA 5.0,采用邻接法构建NS5B和E2基因的遗传进化树。结果表明,发病仔猪为猪非典型瘟病毒(APPV)感染阳性。鉴定毒株HN0626与GenBank中84株参考毒株NS5B和E2基因序列的同源性分别为81.68%~98.95%、81.14%~99.33%,通过预测E2蛋白部分结构,推导其潜在的B细胞抗原表位。系统发育分析显示,HN0626毒株属于基因1型,是全球猪群中的主要流行毒株,其E2、NS5B基因序列在GenBank中的登录号分别为OR936135、OR936136。

非洲猪瘟病毒T、B细胞表位的免疫信息学预测与分析

旨在通过免疫信息学方法预测非洲猪瘟病毒(ASFV)结构蛋白的T、B细胞表位,为非洲猪瘟(ASF)表位疫苗的设计研制提供参考。从NCBI和RCSB数据库获取ASFV蛋白质序列和三维结构,利用IEDB、DTU Health Tech等数据库的生物信息学工具对ASFV的5种结构蛋白p72、p17、p49、M1249L和H240R的细胞毒性T细胞表位、线性B细胞和构象B细胞表位进行鉴定。结果显示:5种蛋白质均为亲水性,二级结构以无规则卷曲为主,仅M1249L例外;预测到抗原性良好、无毒、无致敏的细胞毒性T细胞优势表位27个,线性B细胞优势表位35个;预测到仅针对p72的构象B细胞优势表位2个。结论:ASFV的5种蛋白质可能具有多个潜在T、B细胞表位,其中B细胞表位相对占优,5种蛋白质中p72和M1249L最具疫苗研发前景,可结合蛋白质相关参数信息为构建ASF表位疫苗提供参考。

HPV53进化关系分析及B细胞与T细胞抗原表位预测

目的基于全长序列分析人乳头瘤病毒(human papillomavirus,HPV)53不同分离株的进化关系,并对代表性分离株病毒蛋白(E1、E2、E4、E6、E7、L1和L2)的理化性质、二级结构及B细胞与T细胞抗原表位进行预测。方法检索美国国立生物技术信息中心(National Center for Biotechnology Information,NCBI)数据库,获取HPV53全长序列并构建进化树。采用ProtParam软件分析蛋白的理化性质,PSIPRED和SOPMA软件预测其二级结构。采用ABCpred和IEDB软件预测B、T细胞抗原表位,并结合肽段柔韧性、亲水性、表面可及性、抗原性及Vaxijen评分等参数进一步筛选潜在的优势抗原表位;最后对潜在优势抗原表位与13个高危型HPV进行同源性分析。结果检索NCBI数据库共下载54条HPV53全长序列,经去重后保留48条,来自不同国家/地区的HPV53分离株可划分为A、B、C三个主要进化分支。三个分支代表株病毒的蛋白理化性质相似,E1、E6和E7蛋白的二级结构以α螺旋为主,E2、E4、L1和L2以无规则卷曲为主。经预测和筛选后,共得到6个B细胞潜在优势抗原表位和9个T细胞潜在优势抗原表位,同源性分析发现,E4和E6区域的B细胞抗原表位TTPIRPPPPPRPWAPT和CYRCQHPLTPEEKQLH,及L2区域的T细胞抗原表位SGVHSYEEIPMQ与HPV56具有较高同源性(均>90%)。结论通过生物信息学方法分析和预测发现HPV53分离株可分为A、B、C三个主要进化分支,其理化性质相似,二级结构存在部分小差异,且病毒蛋白中含有B、T细胞抗原表位,为HPV53相关多肽形式的疫苗和抗体药物开发提供了更多理论依据。

抗原表位预测工具的研究与发展现状

适应性免疫在抗原识别和人体免疫过程中起到十分重要的作用。本文综述了抗原表位预测工具的研究进展及其在疫苗设计和免疫治疗策略中的应用,突出了其重要性。通过分析B细胞和T细胞抗原表位的识别机制,本文阐释了表位的种类及其在免疫反应中的作用。进一步详细讨论了B细胞和T细胞抗原表位的预测工具,特别是它们如何利用支持向量机、随机森林、深度学习等不同算法来解析表位信息,并介绍了当前该领域的最新发展现状。最后,本文对抗原表位预测技术的未来发展趋势进行了展望。

新疆和田地区1株小鹅瘟病毒分离鉴定及VP基因的克隆分析

为了找到新疆和田地区某鹅场雏鹅大量死亡的原因,试验采用PCR方法及琼脂扩散试验检测了病死鹅组织,将阳性病料经无菌处理后接种无免番鸭胚,盲传3代,进行病毒分离;设计GPV VP基因特异性引物对其尿囊液进行扩增,构建重组质粒和测序,分析VP基因核苷酸序列同源性、亲缘关系,以及VP蛋白的抗原表位。结果表明:PCR检测及琼脂扩散试验结果均为阳性,其他常见病毒PCR检测结果为阴性;接种病料组织研磨悬液后无免番鸭胚出现典型症状,最终分离到一株GPV分离株,将其命名为GPV/GOOSE/XJHT/2020。该毒株VP基因核苷酸序列与GenBank中不同国家地区毒株的相似性均在95.0%以上;与强毒株DY16、RC16核苷酸序列的相似性均为99.3%,亲缘性高且处在同一分支;与疫苗株SYG61v、弱毒株GPV-98E的相似性均为95.0%,亲缘性较低且处在不同分支。VP蛋白具多个潜在的抗原表位。说明该鹅场存在GPV感染,且与国内毒株亲缘关系较近。

芝麻过敏原的生物信息学分析

通过DNAstar和IEDB等生物信息学软件对7种芝麻过敏原的生物学信息进行分析,采用多种方案对芝麻过敏原的抗原指数、亲水性、表面可及性、柔韧性等参数及其二级结构进行预测,并对预测的抗原表位综合分析.利用SWISS-MODEL进行同源建模并用拉氏图评价其结构稳定性.结果表明,7种芝麻过敏原蛋白均存在多个可能的抗原表位,采用同源建模的方式成功构建了芝麻过敏原蛋白的三级结构模型,拉氏图显示该模型的构象稳定.本研究为制备特异性抗体肽段和过敏原检测等提供了依据.

免疫信息学方法预测针对中东呼吸综合征冠状病毒的T/B细胞抗原表位

目的通过免疫信息学方法预测针对中东呼吸综合征冠状病毒(MERS-CoV)的T/B细胞抗原表位。方法从NCBI获取S蛋白序列后,运用MEGA11进行多序列比对及系统发育树构建,Expasy Protparam分析其理化性质,SOPMA预测其二级结构。随后对S蛋白建模并进行模型验证。再通过NetCTL-1.2、NetMHC pan EL 4.1和IEDB预测杀伤性T细胞(CTL)表位,NetMHCⅡpan-4.0、IFNepitope和IL-4pred预测辅助性T细胞表位(HTL),ABCpred和BepiPred-2.0预测线性B细胞表位(LBL),ElliPro工具预测构象B细胞表位(CBL)。最后对上述预测得到的线性表位进行抗原性、致敏性和毒性预测。结果S蛋白序列保守性较高,且来自不同国家的100个MERS-CoV S蛋白可以装进同一系统进化枝。理化性质分析结果显示,S蛋白亲水性总平均值为-0.078,在哺乳动物网织红细胞中半衰期约为30 h。模型验证结果显示构建的S蛋白模型是合理的。从S蛋白中预测得到具有抗原性、无致敏性和无毒性的CTL表位2个、HTL表位2个,LBL表位15个。ElliPro工具预测得到的CBL表位5个。结论MERS-CoV的S蛋白是亲水性的稳定蛋白;综合多种生物信息学方法可以预测得到T/B细胞抗原表位,对开发针对MERS-CoV的多肽疫苗具有重要借鉴意义。

重组牛乳源金黄色葡萄球菌GapC蛋白优势B细胞抗原表位的预测和筛选

旨在表达牛乳源金黄色葡萄球菌(Staphylococcus aureus)GapC蛋白并对其B细胞抗原表位进行预测与鉴定,本研究利用实验室分离鉴定的S.aureus分离株15119扩增GapC基因并构建重组表达质粒pET-28a-GapC,诱导纯化得到分子量为44 kD重组蛋白GapC,以此免疫新西兰大白兔,获得特异多克隆抗体。利用生物信息学方法,对GapC蛋白的二级及三级结构进行分析,预测其B细胞抗原表位,并利用特异性抗体对筛选的表位进行鉴定。结果表明,GapC蛋白具有良好的免疫原性,筛选出7个线性B细胞抗原表位,利用兔抗重组GapC蛋白多克隆抗体鉴定得到了PL 5(^(221)IPEIDGKLDGGAQRVP^(236))多肽和PL 7(^(264)KNASNESFGYTEDEIVSSDVVGM^(286))2个优势B细胞表位。本研究成功制备了GapC蛋白,预测并鉴定了2个优势抗原表位,为其嵌合表位疫苗的开发提供了技术支持。