In-silico Epitope Design against Chickenpox Virus (Varicella zoster Virus)
Keywords:
Varicella zoster, Alphaherpesvirinae, Immunoinformatics tools, Population coverage, PSIPRED, Ramachandran plot, Procheck software, dockingAbstract
Varicella zoster (VZ) is an infectious disease caused by a viral agent, varicella zoster virus (VZV), belonging to the sub-family Alphaherpesvirinae; VZV has a tropism for neurons leading to neurologic disease in humans. The purpose of this study was to generate a multi epitope vaccine by combining five VZV surface proteins that will stimulate the immune response in humans. Immunoinformatics tools were used to predict B cell and T cell epitopes for the vaccine; population coverage of each T cell epitope's were analysed with results showing high population coverage scores. The vaccine contains a total of 409 amino acids; the vaccine was confirmed to be antigenic, and had low levels of allergenicity. The physical and chemical properties of vaccine were determined including hydrophilicity, stability, presence of aliphatic side chain amino acids, and thermal stability. The vaccine displayed a low level of homology (11%) to the human proteome. Secondary and tertiary vaccine structures were predicted, improved and verified through use of PSIPRED and the Ramachandran plot and analyzed for structural errors using the Procheck software program. Predicted vaccine docking yields significant docking scores. The improved DNA was cloned in pVAX1 vector using snap gene tool.
