Multi-pathogen based chimeric vaccine to fight against COVID-19 and concomitant coinfections

• DOI: 10.1007/s10529-023-03380-0
• Publication Date: 2023-05-06T09:02:17Z
• Authors: Rupal Ojha; Satyendra Singh; Nidhi Gupta; Ketan Kumar; Aditya K. Padhi; Vijay Kumar Praja...
• Keywords: Original Research Paper; Molecular Docking Simulation; COVID-19 Vaccines; SARS-CoV-2; Coinfection; Vaccines, Subunit; Humans; COVID-19; Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte; Epitopes, B-Lymphocyte; Computational Biology; Viral Vaccines; 3. Good health

COVID-19 has proved to be a fatal disease of the year 2020, due to which thousands of people globally have lost their lives, and still, the infection cases are at a high rate. Experimental studies suggested that SARS-CoV-2 interacts with various microorganisms, and this coinfection is accountable for the augmentation of infection severity.In this study, we have designed a multi-pathogen vaccine by involving the immunogenic proteins from S. pneumonia, H. influenza, and M. tuberculosis, as they are dominantly associated with SARS-CoV-2. A total of 8 antigenic protein sequences were selected to predict B-cell, HTL, and CTL epitopes restricted to the most prevalent HLA alleles. The selected epitopes were antigenic, non-allergenic, and non-toxic and were linked with adjuvant and linkers to make the vaccine protein more immunogenic, stable, and flexible. The tertiary structure, Ramachandran plot, and discontinuous B-cell epitopes were predicted. Docking and MD simulation study has shown efficient binding of the chimeric vaccine with the TLR4 receptor.The in silico immune simulation analysis has shown a high level of cytokines and IgG after a three-dose injection. Hence, this strategy could be a better way to decrease the disease's severity and could be used as a weapon to prevent this pandemic.