In-silico approach to design a novel multi-epitope vaccine against Zika Virus

Abstract

Zika virus is a global concern and a public health emergency proclaimed by WHO due to its dangerous repercussions after the infection. Since it poses a significant threat to emerging again, competent and adequate action must be taken to develop an efficient vaccine. The object of this study was to construct a multi-peptide vaccine against the deadly ZIKA virus by using a computational approach of immunoinformatic and bioinformatics. Three structure proteins (capsid, envelope, membrane) were selected due to their precious target in the host cell. The helper and cytotoxic T cells (CTL, HTL) and B cells were predicted as epitopes and fused with the propitious linkers and adjuvants molecules as promising vaccine constructs. These ZIKV vaccine constructs were checked thoroughly to inspect the highest immunogenicity and physiological properties. All the primary constructs were non-allergenic, non-toxic, and highly antigenic. The validation and selection criteria helped to choose the stronger candidates with considerable features to induce a high immunogenic response. The docking and structural simulation of the vaccine constructs with TLR4 receptor confirmed the binding stability and affinities to a great extent. MD simulations of the vaccine-TLR4 complex were performed to appraise the efficacy of the structural stability and integrity to find the only suitable candidate among all the primary and secondary selections. However, the in-vivo and in-vitro testing and clinical trial are required to justify the aim of the study.