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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Immunol.
Sec. Vaccines and Molecular Therapeutics
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1505313
This article is part of the Research Topic Towards the Rapid and Systematic Assessment of Vaccine Technologies View all articles

In silico design of a multi-epitope vaccine against Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis

Provisionally accepted
Weiqi Guo Weiqi Guo 1,2Xinyu Wang Xinyu Wang 1Jiangang Hu Jiangang Hu 1Beibei Zhang Beibei Zhang 1Luru Zhao Luru Zhao 1,2Guangdong Zhang Guangdong Zhang 1Jingjing Qi Jingjing Qi 1Zuzhang Wei Zuzhang Wei 2Yanqing Bao Yanqing Bao 1Mingxing Tian Mingxing Tian 1Shaohui Wang Shaohui Wang 1*
  • 1 Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai, China
  • 2 College of Animal Science and Technology, Guangxi University, Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Region, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The widespread chronic enteritis known as Paratuberculosis (PTB) or Johne's disease (JD) is caused by Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP), posing a significant threat to global public health. Given the challenges associated with PTB or JD, the development and application of vaccines are potentially important for disease control. The aim of this study was to design a multi-epitope vaccine against MAP. By utilizing pan-genome and reverse vaccinology analysis, five promising cross-protective antigens were discovered from a total of 198 MAP genomes. The proteins underwent screening for B-cell and T-cell epitopes, followed by subsequent assessments of antigenicity, allergenicity, and toxicity. In total, 10 B-cell epitopes, 10 HTL epitopes, and 9 CTL epitopes were selected for the design of the vaccine. The vaccine candidate along with the vaccine-TLR4 complex, demonstrated considerable stability according to molecular dynamics simulation analyses. Findings from molecular docking indicated that the vaccine candidate interacted with TLR4. The immune simulation experiment, which replicated the host's immune response, showed an increase in both B-cell and Tcell populations following administration of the vaccine. Ultimately, the vaccine candidate, characterized by a codon adaptability index value of 1.0 and a GC content of 53.64%, indicated strong potential for successful expression within the host cell. This research developed a multi-epitope vaccine targeting MAP through pan-genomes and reverse vaccinology methods, offering innovative strategies for creating effective vaccines against MAP.

    Keywords: Multi-epitope vaccine, Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis, pan-genome, reverse vaccinology, molecular dynamics

    Received: 02 Oct 2024; Accepted: 10 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Guo, Wang, Hu, Zhang, Zhao, Zhang, Qi, Wei, Bao, Tian and Wang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Shaohui Wang, Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.