Universal peptide-based potential vaccine design against canine distemper virus (CDV) using a vaccinomic approach.

Canine distemper virus (CDV) affects many domestic and wild animals. Variations among CDV genome linages could lead to vaccination failure. To date, there are several vaccine alternatives, such as a modified live virus and a recombinant vaccine; however, most of these alternatives are based on the ancestral strain Onderstepoort, which has not been circulating for years. Vaccine failures and the need to update vaccines have been widely discussed, and the development of new vaccine candidates is necessary to reduce circulation and mortality. Current vaccination alternatives cannot be used in wildlife animals due to the lack of safety data for most of the species, in addition to the insufficient immune response against circulating strains worldwide in domestic species. Computational tools, including peptide-based therapies, have become essential for developing new-generation vaccines for diverse models. In this work, a peptide-based vaccine candidate with a peptide library derived from CDV H and F protein consensus sequences was constructed employing computational tools. The molecular docking and dynamics of the selected peptides with canine MHC-I and MHC-II and with TLR-2 and TLR-4 were evaluated. In silico safety was assayed through determination of antigenicity, allergenicity, toxicity potential, and homologous canine peptides. Additionally, in vitro safety was also evaluated through cytotoxicity in cell lines and canine peripheral blood mononuclear cells (cPBMCs) and through a hemolysis potential assay using canine red blood cells. A multiepitope CDV polypeptide was constructed, synthetized, and evaluated in silico and in vitro by employing the most promising peptides for comparison with single CDV immunogenic peptides. Our findings suggest that predicting immunogenic CDV peptides derived from most antigenic CDV proteins could aid in the development of new vaccine candidates, such as multiple single CDV peptides and multiepitope CDV polypeptides, that are safe in vitro and optimized in silico. In vivo studies are being conducted to validate potential vaccines that may be effective in preventing CDV infection in domestic and wild animals.

Computational method for designing vaccines applied to virus-like particles (VLPs) as epitope carriers.

Nonenveloped virus-like particles (VLPs) are self-assembled oligomeric structures composed of one or more proteins that originate from diverse viruses. Because these VLPs have similar antigenicity to the parental virus, they are successfully used as vaccines against cognate virus infection. Furthermore, after foreign antigenic sequences are inserted in their protein components (chimVLPs), some VLPs are also amenable to producing vaccines against pathogens other than the virus it originates from (these VLPs are named platform or epitope carrier). Designing chimVLP vaccines is challenging because the immunogenic response must be oriented against a given antigen without altering stimulant properties inherent to the VLP. An important step in this process is choosing the location of the sequence modifications because this must be performed without compromising the assembly and stability of the original VLP. Currently, many immunogenic data and computational tools can help guide the design of chimVLPs, thus reducing experimental costs and work. In this study, we analyze the structure of a novel VLP that originate from an insect virus and describe the putative regions of its three structural proteins amenable to insertion. For this purpose, we employed molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to assess chimVLP stability by comparing mutated and wild-type (WT) VLP protein trajectories. We applied this procedure to design a chimVLP that can serve as a prophylactic vaccine against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The methodology described in this work is generally applicable for VLP-based vaccine development.

Immunoinformatic Approach for Rational Identification of Immunogenic Peptides Against Host Entry and/or Exit Mpox Proteins and Potential Multiepitope Vaccine Construction.

COVID-19 has intensified humanity's concern about the emergence of new pandemics. Since 2018, epidemic outbreaks of the mpox virus have become worrisome. In June 2022, the World Health Organization declared the disease a global health emergency, with 14 500 cases reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 60 countries. Therefore, the development of a vaccine based on the current virus genome is paramount in combating new cases. In view of this, we hypothesized the obtainment of rational immunogenic peptides predicted from proteins responsible for entry of the mpox virus into the host (A17L, A26L/A30L, A33R, H2R, L1R), exit (A27L, A35R, A36R, C19L), and both (B5R). To achieve this, we aligned the genome sequencing data of mpox virus isolated from an infected individual in the United States in June 2022 (ON674051.1) with the reference genome dated 2001 (NC_003310.1) for conservation analysis. The Immune Epitope Database server was used for the identification and characterization of the epitopes of each protein related to major histocompatibility complex I or II interaction and recognition by B-cell receptors, resulting in 138 epitopes for A17L, 233 for A28L, 48 for A33R, 77 for H2R, 77 for L1R, 270 for A27L, 72 for A35R, A36R, 148 for C19L, and 276 for B5R. These epitopes were tested in silico for antigenicity, physicochemical properties, and allergenicity, resulting in 51, 40, 10, 34, 38, 57, 25, 7, 47, and 53 epitopes, respectively. Additionally, to select an epitope with the highest promiscuity of binding to major histocompatibility complexes and B-cell receptor simultaneously, all epitopes of each protein were aligned, and the most repetitive and antigenic regions were identified. By classifying the results, we obtained 23 epitopes from the entry proteins, 16 from the exit proteins, and 7 from both. Subsequently, 1 epitope from each protein was selected, and all 3 were fused to construct a chimeric protein that has potential as a multiepitope vaccine. The constructed vaccine was then analyzed for its physicochemical, antigenic, and allergenic properties. Protein modeling, molecular dynamics, and molecular docking were performed on Toll-like receptors 2, 4, and 8, followed by in silico immune simulation of the vaccine. Finally, the results indicate an effective, stable, and safe vaccine that can be further tested, especially in vitro and in vivo, to validate the findings demonstrated in silico.

Experimental cystic echinococcosis as a proof of concept for the development of peptide-based vaccines following a novel rational workflow.

Vaccines are among the most important advances in medicine throughout the human history. However, conventional vaccines exhibit several drawbacks in terms of design and production costs. Peptide-based vaccines are attractive alternatives, since they can be designed mainly in silico, can be produced cheaply and safely, and are able to induce immune responses exclusively towards protective epitopes. Yet, a proper peptide design is needed, not only to generate peptide-specific immune responses, but also for them to recognize the native protein in the occurrence of a natural infection. Herein, we propose a rational workflow for developing peptide-based vaccines including novel steps that assure the cross-recognition of native proteins. In this regard, we increased the probability of generating efficient antibodies through the selection of linear B-cell epitopes free of post-translational modifications followed by analyzing the 3D-structure similarity between the peptide in-solution vs. within its parental native protein. As a proof of concept, this workflow was applied to a set of seven previously suggested potential protective antigens against the infection by Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato. Finally, two peptides were obtained showing the capacity to induce specific antibodies able to exert anti-parasite activities in different in vitro settings, as well as to provide significant protection in the murine model of secondary echinococcosis.

Teleost Fish as an Experimental Model for Vaccine Development.

Advances in vaccine development depend on animal models to test innovative therapies. Recent studies have reported the successful introduction of teleost fish as a new vertebrate model in scientific research, with emphasis on the species Danio rerio (zebrafish). This chapter aims to give an overview of important aspects related to the immune system of fish, as well as the current progress of the successful use of these animals in studies for the development of vaccines, assisting in the determination of efficacy and clinical safety. Among the advantages of using fish for the development of vaccines and immunomodulatory drugs, it is worth highlighting the reproductive capacity of these animals resulting in a high number of individuals belonging to the same spawning, transparent embryos, low cost of breeding and high genetic similarity that favor translational responses to vertebrate organisms like humans.

Bioinformatics Prediction of SARS-CoV-2 Epitopes as Vaccine Candidates for the Colombian Population.

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 represents an enormous challenge to global public health, with thousands of infections and deaths in over 200 countries worldwide. The purpose of this study was to identify SARS-CoV-2 epitopes with potential to interact in silico with the alleles of the human leukocyte antigen class I (HLA I) and class II (HLA II) commonly found in the Colombian population to promote both CD4 and CD8 immune responses against this virus. The generation and evaluation of the peptides in terms of HLA I and HLA II binding, immune response, toxicity and allergenicity were performed by using computer-aided tools, such as NetMHCpan 4.1, NetMHCIIpan 4.0, VaxiJem, ToxinPred and AllerTop. Furthermore, the interaction between the predicted epitopes with HLA I and HLA II proteins frequently found in the Colombian population was studied through molecular docking simulations in AutoDock Vina and interaction analysis in LigPlot+. One of the promising peptides proposed in this study is the HLA I epitope YQPYRVVVL, which displayed an estimated coverage of over 82% and 96% for the Colombian and worldwide population, respectively. These findings could be useful for the design of new epitope-vaccines that include Colombia among their population target.

SARS-CoV-2 Vaccines Based on the Spike Glycoprotein and Implications of New Viral Variants.

Coronavirus 19 Disease (COVID-19) originating in the province of Wuhan, China in 2019, is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2), whose infection in humans causes mild or severe clinical manifestations that mainly affect the respiratory system. So far, the COVID-19 has caused more than 2 million deaths worldwide. SARS-CoV-2 contains the Spike (S) glycoprotein on its surface, which is the main target for current vaccine development because antibodies directed against this protein can neutralize the infection. Companies and academic institutions have developed vaccines based on the S glycoprotein, as well as its antigenic domains and epitopes, which have been proven effective in generating neutralizing antibodies. However, the emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 variants could affect the effectiveness of vaccines. Here, we review the different types of vaccines designed and developed against SARS-CoV-2, placing emphasis on whether they are based on the complete S glycoprotein, its antigenic domains such as the receptor-binding domain (RBD) or short epitopes within the S glycoprotein. We also review and discuss the possible effectiveness of these vaccines against emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants.

A Proteome-Wide Immunoinformatics Tool to Accelerate T-Cell Epitope Discovery and Vaccine Design in the Context of Emerging Infectious Diseases: An Ethnicity-Oriented Approach.

Emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) caused by viruses are increasing in frequency, causing a high disease burden and mortality world-wide. The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the novel SARS-like coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) underscores the need to innovate and accelerate the development of effective vaccination strategies against EIDs. Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) molecules play a central role in the immune system by determining the peptide repertoire displayed to the T-cell compartment. Genetic polymorphisms of the HLA system thus confer a strong variability in vaccine-induced immune responses and may complicate the selection of vaccine candidates, because the distribution and frequencies of HLA alleles are highly variable among different ethnic groups. Herein, we build on the emerging paradigm of rational epitope-based vaccine design, by describing an immunoinformatics tool (Predivac-3.0) for proteome-wide T-cell epitope discovery that accounts for ethnic-level variations in immune responsiveness. Predivac-3.0 implements both CD8+ and CD4+ T-cell epitope predictions based on HLA allele frequencies retrieved from the Allele Frequency Net Database. The tool was thoroughly assessed, proving comparable performances (AUC ~0.9) against four state-of-the-art pan-specific immunoinformatics methods capable of population-level analysis (NetMHCPan-4.0, Pickpocket, PSSMHCPan and SMM), as well as a strong accuracy on proteome-wide T-cell epitope predictions for HIV-specific immune responses in the Japanese population. The utility of the method was investigated for the COVID-19 pandemic, by performing in silico T-cell epitope mapping of the SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein according to the ethnic context of the countries where the ChAdOx1 vaccine is currently initiating phase III clinical trials. Potentially immunodominant CD8+ and CD4+ T-cell epitopes and population coverages were predicted for each population (the Epitope Discovery mode), along with optimized sets of broadly recognized (promiscuous) T-cell epitopes maximizing coverage in the target populations (the Epitope Optimization mode). Population-specific epitope-rich regions (T-cell epitope clusters) were further predicted in protein antigens based on combined criteria of epitope density and population coverage. Overall, we conclude that Predivac-3.0 holds potential to contribute in the understanding of ethnic-level variations of vaccine-induced immune responsiveness and to guide the development of epitope-based next-generation vaccines against emerging pathogens, whose geographic distributions and populations in need of vaccinations are often well-defined for regional epidemics.

Distribution of HLA-DRB1 alleles in BRICS countries with a high tuberculosis burden: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract INTRODUCTION: Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading cause of death worldwide caused by a single infectious disease agent. Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS) account for more than half of the world's TB cases. Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) remains the only vaccine available despite its variable efficacy. Promising antigen-based vaccines have been proposed as prophylactic and/or immunotherapeutic approaches to boost BCG vaccination. Relevant antigens must interact with the range of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) molecules present in target populations; yet this information is currently not available. METHODS: MEDLINE and EMBASE were systematically searched for articles published during 2013-2020 to measure the allelic frequencies of HLA-DRB1 in the BRICS. RESULTS: In total, 67 articles involving 3,207,861 healthy individuals were included in the meta-analysis. HLA-DRB1 alleles *03, *04, *07, *11, *13, and *15 were consistently identified at high frequencies across the BRICS, with a combined estimated frequency varying from 52% to 80%. HLA-DRB1 alleles *01, *08, *09, *10, *12, and *14 were found to be relevant in only one or two BRICS populations. CONCLUSIONS: By combining these alleles, it is possible to ensure at least 80% coverage throughout the BRICS populations.

SARS-CoV-2 Codon Usage Bias Downregulates Host Expressed Genes With Similar Codon Usage.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome has spread quickly throughout the world and was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). The pathogenic agent is a new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) that infects pulmonary cells with great effectiveness. In this study we focus on the codon composition for the viral protein synthesis and its relationship with the protein synthesis of the host. Our analysis reveals that SARS-CoV-2 preferred codons have poor representation of G or C nucleotides in the third position, a characteristic which could result in an unbalance in the tRNAs pools of the infected cells with serious implications in host protein synthesis. By integrating this observation with proteomic data from infected cells, we observe a reduced translation rate of host proteins associated with highly expressed genes and that they share the codon usage bias of the virus. The functional analysis of these genes suggests that this mechanism of epistasis can contribute to understanding how this virus evades the immune response and the etiology of some deleterious collateral effect as a result of the viral replication. In this manner, our finding contributes to the understanding of the SARS-CoV-2 pathogeny and could be useful for the design of a vaccine based on the live attenuated strategy.

Actinoporins: From the Structure and Function to the Generation of Biotechnological and Therapeutic Tools.

Actinoporins (APs) are a family of pore-forming toxins (PFTs) from sea anemones. These biomolecules exhibit the ability to exist as soluble monomers within an aqueous medium or as constitutively open oligomers in biological membranes. Through their conformational plasticity, actinoporins are considered good candidate molecules to be included for the rational design of molecular tools, such as immunotoxins directed against tumor cells and stochastic biosensors based on nanopores to analyze unique DNA or protein molecules. Additionally, the ability of these proteins to bind to sphingomyelin (SM) facilitates their use for the design of molecular probes to identify SM in the cells. The immunomodulatory activity of actinoporins in liposomal formulations for vaccine development has also been evaluated. In this review, we describe the potential of actinoporins for use in the development of molecular tools that could be used for possible medical and biotechnological applications.

Chimeras could help in the fight against leptospirosis.

Understanding the structure of an antigen can guide the design of improved antigen-based vaccines.

Leishmania donovani Nucleoside Hydrolase (NH36) Domains Induce T-Cell Cytokine Responses in Human Visceral Leishmaniasis.

Development of immunoprotection against visceral leishmaniasis (VL) focused on the identification of antigens capable of inducing a Th1 immune response. Alternatively, antigens targeting the CD8 and T-regulatory responses are also relevant in VL pathogenesis and worthy of being included in a preventive human vaccine. We assessed in active and cured patients and VL asymptomatic subjects the clinical signs and cytokine responses to the Leishmania donovani nucleoside hydrolase NH36 antigen and its N-(F1), central (F2) and C-terminal (F3) domains. As markers of VL resistance, the F2 induced the highest levels of IFN-γ, IL-1ß, and TNF-α and, together with F1, the strongest secretion of IL-17, IL-6, and IL-10 in DTH+ and cured subjects. F2 also promoted the highest frequencies of CD3+CD4+IL-2+TNF-α-IFN-γ-, CD3+CD4+IL-2+TNF-α+IFN-γ-, CD3+CD4+IL-2+TNF-α-IFN-γ+, and CD3+CD4+IL-2+TNF-α+IFN-γ+ T cells in cured and asymptomatic subjects. Consistent with this, the IFN-γ increase was correlated with decreased spleen (R = -0.428, P = 0.05) and liver sizes (R = -0.428, P = 0.05) and with increased hematocrit counts (R = 0.532, P = 0.015) in response to F1 domain, and with increased hematocrit (R = 0.512, P 0.02) and hemoglobin counts (R = 0.434, P = 0.05) in response to F2. Additionally, IL-17 increases were associated with decreased spleen and liver sizes in response to F1 (R = -0.595, P = 0.005) and F2 (R = -0.462, P = 0.04). Conversely, F1 and F3 increased the CD3+CD8+IL-2+TNF-α-IFN-γ-, CD3+CD8+IL-2+TNF-α+IFN-γ-, and CD3+CD8+IL-2+TNF-α+IFN-γ+ T cell frequencies of VL patients correlated with increased spleen and liver sizes and decreased hemoglobin and hematocrit values. Therefore, cure and acquired resistance to VL correlate with the CD4+-Th1 and Th-17 T-cell responses to F2 and F1 domains. Clinical VL outcomes, by contrast, correlate with CD8+ T-cell responses against F3 and F1, potentially involved in control of the early infection. The in silico-predicted NH36 epitopes are conserved and bind to many HL-DR and HLA and B allotypes. No human vaccine against Leishmania is available thus far. In this investigation, we identified the NH36 domains and epitopes that induce CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses, which could be used to potentiate a human universal T-epitope vaccine against leishmaniasis.

Strategies for Vaccine Design Using Phage Display-Derived Peptides.

Development of peptide vaccines through the phage display technology is a powerful strategy that relies on short peptides expressed in the phage capsid surface to induce highly targeted immune responses. Phage display-derived immunogenic peptides can be used directly as a phage-fused peptide reagent or as a synthetic peptide with specific modifications, according to target molecule and disease pathogen/parasite. Peptides' selection (mimotopes) can be performed against monoclonal or polyclonal antibodies to disclose determinant regions (epitopes) that can induce a neutralizing response. Validations of mimotopes are performed in vitro and in vivo, based on cell culture and animal models, to demonstrate its immunogenic potential for final vaccine formulations with an appropriate adjuvant. Here we present specific methods for the discovery of novel immunogenic peptides based on phage display.

Recombinant and epitope-based vaccines on the road to the market and implications for vaccine design and production.

Novel vaccination approaches based on rational design of B- and T-cell epitopes - epitope-based vaccines - are making progress in the clinical trial pipeline. The epitope-focused recombinant protein-based malaria vaccine (termed RTS,S) is a next-generation approach that successfully reached phase-III trials, and will potentially become the first commercial vaccine against a human parasitic disease. Progress made on methods such as recombinant DNA technology, advanced cell-culture techniques, immunoinformatics and rational design of immunogens are driving the development of these novel concepts. Synthetic recombinant proteins comprising both B- and T-cell epitopes can be efficiently produced through modern biotechnology and bioprocessing methods, and can enable the induction of large repertoires of immune specificities. In particular, the inclusion of appropriate CD4+ T-cell epitopes is increasingly considered a key vaccine component to elicit robust immune responses, as suggested by results coming from HIV-1 clinical trials. In silico strategies for vaccine design are under active development to address genetic variation in pathogens and several broadly protective "universal" influenza and HIV-1 vaccines are currently at different stages of clinical trials. Other methods focus on improving population coverage in target populations by rationally considering specificity and prevalence of the HLA proteins, though a proof-of-concept in humans has not been demonstrated yet. Overall, we expect immunoinformatics and bioprocessing methods to become a central part of the next-generation epitope-based vaccine development and production process.

Campos electromagneticos planares permiten explicar el acople entre peptidos y moleculas de HLA-II / The use of planar electromagnetic fields to explain coupling between HLA-II molecules and peptides / Campos electromagnéticos plano ajudam a explicar o acoplamento entre os peptídeos e as moléculas HLA-II

A partir del reciente hallazgo de campos electromagnéticos planares en sistemas proteicos, se propone un mecanismo para explicar la seleccion, atraccion y acople de peptidos con las moleculas de HLA-II para su posterior presentacion a celulas T-Helper. El mecanismo aqui planteado explica dichos acoples por primera vez sin recurrir al paradigma de acople molecular "Llave-Cerrojo". Aplicando estos patrones electromagneticos, se disenaron ocho peptidos con mejor capacidad acoplante con la molecula de HLA-II que el peptido de acople universal conocido como CLIP, lo cual indica que esta metodologia facilita el diseno de peptidos-vacuna con altos valores de binding. Estos patrones electromagneticos descubiertos por los autores permitieron tambien explicar la capacidad de acople universal del peptido CLIP, asi como proporcionar multiples soluciones a problemas de la Bioquimica y la Inmunologia Molecular que seran expuestos en trabajos posteriores.(AU)

Following the recent discovery of planar electromagnetic fields in protein systems, this work proposes a mechanism to explain the action of HLA-II molecules in selecting, attracting and coupling with peptide-antigens prior to their presentation to T-helper cells. The mechanism explains such couplings for the first time without recourse to the molecular "key-lock" paradigm. Using these electromagnetic field patterns, eight peptides were designed that showed better coupling capacity with HLA-II molecules than the native CLIP peptide. The novel methodology enables the design of vaccinepeptides with high binding capacity. The discovered electromagnetic patterns further offer an explanation of the universal coupling capacity of CLIP and give rise to a number of solutions and new concepts in molecular immunology.(AU)

Desde a descoberta recente de campos eletromagnéticos plano em sistemas proteicos, os autores prop§em um mecanismo para explicar a seleþÒo, a atraþÒo e o acoplamento de peptídeos com moléculas HLA-II para subsequente apresentaþÒo de células T-Helper. O mecanismo criado explica tais acoplamentos pela primeira vez, sem recorrer ao paradigma de acoplamento molecular "Key-Lock". Aplicando estes padr§es eletromagnéticos, foram criados oito peptídeos com melhor acoplamento com a molécula HLA-II do que o peptídeo de anexar universal conhecido como CLIP, que indica que esta metodologia facilita o projeto de peptídeos-vacuna com altos valores de ligaþÒo. Estes padr§es eletromagnéticos descobertos pelos autores permitiram também explicar a capacidade do CLIP de peptídeo de acoplamento universal, bem como fornecem múltiplas soluþ§es para problemas de Bioquímica e Imunologia Molecular, que será exibido em trabalhos posteriores.(AU)

Hallazgo de patrones para péptidos-vacuna con capacidad de acople universal en moléculas de HLA-II / Identification of patterns for peptide-vaccines in universal capacity coupling HLA-II molecules / Identificagáo de padroes para peptídeos-vacina com capacidade de acoplamento universal em moléculas HLA-II

Partiendo del alineamiento múltiple de secuencias proteicas humanas obtenidas de las bases de datos del National Center of Biotechnology Information (NCBI) y su posterior análisis espacial tridimensional, se estableció la existencia de un patrón de acople universal para péptidos presentados por las moléculas de histocompatibilidad HLA-II (DR, DP y DQ), siendo una base para el diseño de vacunas proteicas. Estos patrones espaciales fueron claramente exhibidos por los residuos altamente conservados de los tres tipos de moléculas de HLA-II. La aplicación de este nuevo hallazgo permitió diseñar péptidos con mejores valores de acople péptido-HLA-II, que los generados por el péptido de acople universal conocido como CLIP (class Il-associated invariant chain peptide).

Starting from the multiple alignment of human protein sequences obtained from the NCBI database (National Center of Biotechnology Information) and subsequent three-dimensional spatial analysis, the existence of a pattern of universal coupling to peptides presented by MHC molecules HLA-II (DR, DP and DQ) was established, being a basis for the design of protein vaccines. These spatial patterns were clearly exhibited by highly conserved residues of the three kinds of HLA-II molecules. The application of this new finding made it possible to design peptides with better Peptide -HLA-II coupling values than those generated by the universal coupling peptide called CLIP (class II-associated invariant chain peptide).

FA partir do alinhamento múltiplo de sequéncias de proteínas humanas obtidas a partir das bases de dados do NCBI (National Center of Biotechnology Information) e análise espacial tridimensional subsequente, estabeleceu-se a existéncia de um padráo de acoplamento universal para peptídeos apresentados pelas moléculas de histocompatibilidade HLA-II (DR, DP e DQ), sendo uma base para o desenho de vacinas proteicas. Estes padroes espaciais foram claramente exibidos pelos residuos altamente conservados dos trés tipos de moléculas de HLA-II. A aplicagáo deste novo achado permitiu desenhar peptídeos com melhores valores de acoplamento peptídeo-HLA-II, do que aqueles gerados pelo peptídeo de acoplamento universal conhecido como CLIP (classe II-peptídeo associado a cadeia invariante).

Hallazgo de patrones para péptidos-vacuna con capacidad de acople universal en moléculas de HLA-II / Identification of patterns for peptide-vaccines in universal capacity coupling HLA-II molecules / Identificagáo de padroes para peptídeos-vacina com capacidade de acoplamento universal em moléculas HLA-II

Partiendo del alineamiento múltiple de secuencias proteicas humanas obtenidas de las bases de datos del National Center of Biotechnology Information (NCBI) y su posterior análisis espacial tridimensional, se estableció la existencia de un patrón de acople universal para péptidos presentados por las moléculas de histocompatibilidad HLA-II (DR, DP y DQ), siendo una base para el diseño de vacunas proteicas. Estos patrones espaciales fueron claramente exhibidos por los residuos altamente conservados de los tres tipos de moléculas de HLA-II. La aplicación de este nuevo hallazgo permitió diseñar péptidos con mejores valores de acople péptido-HLA-II, que los generados por el péptido de acople universal conocido como CLIP (class Il-associated invariant chain peptide).(AU)

Starting from the multiple alignment of human protein sequences obtained from the NCBI database (National Center of Biotechnology Information) and subsequent three-dimensional spatial analysis, the existence of a pattern of universal coupling to peptides presented by MHC molecules HLA-II (DR, DP and DQ) was established, being a basis for the design of protein vaccines. These spatial patterns were clearly exhibited by highly conserved residues of the three kinds of HLA-II molecules. The application of this new finding made it possible to design peptides with better Peptide -HLA-II coupling values than those generated by the universal coupling peptide called CLIP (class II-associated invariant chain peptide).(AU)

FA partir do alinhamento múltiplo de sequéncias de proteínas humanas obtidas a partir das bases de dados do NCBI (National Center of Biotechnology Information) e análise espacial tridimensional subsequente, estabeleceu-se a existéncia de um padráo de acoplamento universal para peptídeos apresentados pelas moléculas de histocompatibilidade HLA-II (DR, DP e DQ), sendo uma base para o desenho de vacinas proteicas. Estes padroes espaciais foram claramente exibidos pelos residuos altamente conservados dos trés tipos de moléculas de HLA-II. A aplicagáo deste novo achado permitiu desenhar peptídeos com melhores valores de acoplamento peptídeo-HLA-II, do que aqueles gerados pelo peptídeo de acoplamento universal conhecido como CLIP (classe II-peptídeo associado a cadeia invariante).(AU)