1st International and 10th National Iranian Conference on Bioinformatics
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Reverse vaccinology approach to design a novel multi-epitope vaccine candidate against SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant
Paper ID : 1041-ICB10
Authors:
Esmaeil Roohparvar Basmenj *1, Seyed Shahriar Arab2
1Biophysics Department, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, IRAN
2Tarbiat Modares University
Abstract:
SARS-CoV-2 is a single-stranded RNA virus which belongs to the own coronavirus circle of relatives and reasons Covid-19. Omicron variant is a SARS-CoV-2 variant and was first reported on November 9, 2021. Moreover, World Health Organization (WHO) declared it a cause for concern on November 26, 2021. In this project, we designed a multi-epitope vaccine candidate targeting the spike glycoprotein of the Omicron variant. Spike glycoprotein is the largest protein of four structural proteins discovered in coronaviruses. This protein is incredibly immunogenic, and spike anti-protein antibodies are discovered in improved SARS and Covid-19 instances, and most COVID-19 vaccine development efforts in the reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic aim to set off the immune response against the spike protein. In addition to being effective against the Omicron variant, the bioinformatics vaccine presented in the current project is also effective against other variants of the former coronavirus. Furthermore, the vaccine is expected to be effective against other variants that we will encounter in the future; because the epitopes used in this present research are found via the existing coronavirus sequences, which were sequenced in different countries since the beginning of the pandemic. It means that these sequences are somehow conserved in the coronavirus genomic sequence. The proposed vaccine candidate was evaluated for various characteristics such as antigenicity, allergenicity, toxicity, physical and chemical properties, secondary and tertiary structure, and its interaction with the immune system using the docking technique. Finally, the suggested vaccine candidate has passed all the computational tests and is now acknowledged as a viable coronavirus vaccine candidate.
Keywords:
COVID-19, Coronavirus, Reverse vaccinology, Spike Glycoprotein, Multiepitopes Vaccine
Status : Paper Accepted (Poster Presentation)