Epitope-Based Vaccine Design against Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 Envelope Protein
Objectives: The outbreak of the 2019 novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has infected millions of people, with a large number of deaths across 200 countries. The sudden emergence of the virus leads to limited available therapies for SARS-CoV-2. Therefore, vaccines and antiviral medicines are in desperate need.
Methods: This study took immune-informatics approaches to identify B- and T-cell epitopes for the envelope membrane protein (E) of SARS-CoV-2, followed by estimating their antigenicity and interactions with the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles.
Results: We identified three B cell epitopes (“NSSRVPD”, “SRVKNLNSSRV”, “SRVPDLLV”), two MHC class-I (“FLLVTLAIL”, “VSLVKPSFY”) and one MHC class-II binding T-cell epitopes (“LLFLAFVVFLLVTLA”), which showed highly antigenic features. Allergenicity, toxicity and physicochemical properties analysis confirmed the specificity and selectivity of epitopes. The stability and safety of epitopes were confirmed by digestion analysis.
Conclusion: Epitopes were thus identified and some of them can be potential candidates for vaccine development.
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