In silico epitope identification of unique multidrug resistance proteins from Salmonella Typhi for vaccine development

OBJECTIVE:
In this study, we aimed to predict potential immune B-cell and T-cell epitopes in MDR proteins of S. Typhi which can trigger B- and T-cell immune responses, using immunoinformatics approach. Eleven membrane proteins – EmrA, EmrB, EmrD, MdtA, MdtB, MdtC, MdtG, MdtH, MdtK, MdtL and TolC of S. Typhi were selected to predict epitopes. An epitope from EmrA, MdtA, MdtB, MdtG, and TolC was predicted to serve as a potential candidate for the production of peptide vaccines.
RESULTS:
We predicted 9 T-cell epitopes capable of eliciting both humoral and adaptive immune responses. This is the first report of epitope prediction in the MDR proteins of S. Typhi. Taken together, these results indicate the MDR proteins – EmrA, MdtA and TolC are the most suitable vaccine candidates for S. Typhi. The findings of our study on the MDR proteins prove to be useful in the development of peptide-based vaccine for the prevention and/or treatment of typhoid fever.

Click here to view the article, published in Computational Biology and Chemistry.