In silico prediction of B-Cell Epitope of the Marburg Virus Glycoprotein for Peptide based Vaccine design

Abstract

Marburg virus (MARV), a highly pathogenic member of the Filoviridae family, causes Marburg virus disease (MVD), a severe hemorrhagic fever with high mortality rates and significant public health implications and B-cells are a type of white blood cell that plays a critical role in the adaptive immune system. They are responsible for recognizing specific antigens through their B-cell receptors (BCRs) and producing antibodies, which are crucial for neutralizing pathogens and preventing infections. Upon encountering an antigen, Bcells can differentiate into plasma cells that secrete large quantities of antibodies, or into memory B-cells that provide long-term immunity by responding more rapidly upon subsequent exposures to the same antigen. This study was aimed at employing in-silico methods to predict potential B-cell epitopes of the Marburg virus glycoprotein (GP) for the design of a peptide-based vaccine. By identifying and retrieving the glycoprotein sequences from the Uniprot database, carrying out multiple sequence alignment (MSA) and consensus sequence generation to identify conserved regions, epitope prediction using the (Immune Epitope Database) IEDB epitope analysis tools and allergenicity assessment, the research sought and pinpointed antigenic regions/ Epitopes that could elicit a targeted immune response against the MARV. The findings revealed three major promising B-cell epitopes within the MARV GP. Specifically, Epitope 1 (EASKRWA) of 7 amino acid residues, Epitope 2 (GQGYRHM) of 7 amino acid residues and Epitope 3 (QEYNSTKN) of 8 amino acid residues, demonstrating significant potential for vaccine development. These epitopes exhibited high antigenicity and low allergenicity, making them suitable candidates for peptide-based vaccines. This study provides valuable insights into the design of peptide-based vaccines against the Marburg virus, laying a foundation for further experimental studies to validate the efficacy of the identified epitopes in inducing robust immunity