Immunoinformatic analysis of conserved immunodominant epitopes derived from Newcastle disease virus strains prevalent in West Africa

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to design an epitope-based vaccine targeting the currently circulating genotypes of Newcastle disease virus (NDV) in West Africa using immunoinformatic approaches. Complete fusion protein sequences from West African NDV isolates were retrieved and aligned using MEGA11 software. Then, conserved immunodominant B cell, T helper and T cytotoxic epitopes were predicted for the construction of the vaccine candidate, NDVaxWA. Subsequently, antigenicity, allergenicity, toxicity and other physicochemical properties of NDVaxWA were evaluated using an array of in silico tools. Our findings revealed a total of 11 immuno-conserved epitopes comprising 3 BCL, 2 CTL and 6 HTL epitopes used for NDVaxWA construction. A molecular docking of Toll-like receptor-7 with the NDVaxWA indicated successful binding. An in silico immune simulation revealed robust humoral and cell mediated responses following vaccination with NDVaxWA. Taken together, NDVaxWA is a potential vaccine candidate for improved protective efficacy against the currently circulating NDV strains in West Africa.