Exploring the Papillomaviral Proteome to Identify Potential Candidates for a Chimeric Vaccine against Cervix Papilloma Using Immunomics and Computational Structural Vaccinology
VIRUSES-BASEL
Authors: Kaliamurthi, Satyavani; Selvaraj, Gurudeeban; Chinnasamy, Sathishkumar; Wang, Qiankun; Nangraj, Asma Sindhoo; Cho, William C. S.; Gu, Keren; Wei, Dong-Qing
Abstract
The human papillomavirus (HPV) 58 is considered to be the second most predominant genotype in cervical cancer incidents in China. HPV type-restriction, non-targeted delivery, and the highcost of existing vaccines necessitate continuing research on the HPV vaccine. We aimed to explore the papillomaviral proteome in order to identify potential candidates for a chimeric vaccine against cervix papilloma using computational immunology and structural vaccinology approaches. Two overlapped epitope segments (23-36) and (29-42) from the N-terminal region of the HPV58 minor capsid protein L2 are selected as capable of inducing both cellular and humoral immunity. In total, 318 amino acid lengths of the vaccine construct SGD58 contain adjuvants (Flagellin and RS09), two Th epitopes, and linkers. SGD58 is a stable protein that is soluble, antigenic, and non-allergenic. Homology modeling and the structural refinement of the best models of SGD58 and TLR5 found 96.8% and 93.9% favored regions in Rampage, respectively. The docking results demonstrated a HADDOCK score of -62.5 +/- 7.6, the binding energy (-30 kcal/mol) and 44 interacting amino acid residues between SGD58-TLR5 complex. The docked complex are stable in 100 ns of simulation. The coding sequences of SGD58 also show elevated gene expression in Escherichia coli with 1.0 codon adaptation index and 59.92% glycine-cysteine content. We conclude that SGD58 may prompt the creation a vaccine against cervix papilloma.
Changes in the cellular component of the human innate immunity system in short-term isolation
ACTA ASTRONAUTICA
Authors: Ponomarev, Sergey; Kutko, Olga; Rykova, Marina; Kalinin, Sergey; Antropova, Evgenya; Sadova, Anastasiya; Orlova, Kseniya; Shulgina, Sofiya
Abstract
A systemic approach in the evaluation of the various components of the immune system gave an opportunity to identify a number of characteristics of adaptive changes, including the quantitative and functional changes in both innate and adaptive immunity in response to space flight. Among them the most important are the changes in the system of Toll like receptors (TLRs), namely, the decrease in the content of circulating monocytes and granulocytes expressing TLR2, TLR4, TLR6, and inhibition of T-cells functional potential. However, a fundamentally important problem of revealing the complex of intermolecular and intercellular interactions during the immune response development under space fight conditions in an organism as a whole still remains unsolved. By now there exists quite strong evidence that dendritic cells (DCs) play the important role in linking the innate and adaptive immunity through their characteristic expression patterns of TLRs and cytokine production. In this study we examined the number of circulating plasmacytoid DCs (pDCs) and monocytes expressing signaling PRRs in 6 healthy participants of the "SIRIUS-17" project. Whole blood was collected at prior, during and post isolation periods from three male and three female volunteers aged 27 to 43 who spent 17 days in permanent isolation in an enclosed habitat consisting of hermetically sealed interconnecting modules at the Institute for Biomedical Problems (IBMP) in Moscow. Results of the investigation showed a distinct effect of short-term isolation on the immune system ability to mobilize. Although no significant changes in the percentages of cells which expressed surface TLRs (TLR1, TLR2, TLR4, TLR5 and TLR6) and endosomal TLRs (TLR3, TLR8 and TLR9) were noted, the percentage of pDCs (CD14-/CD16-CD123 + CD85k+) significantly increased on day 7 of the experiment compared with the baseline. These changes were independent of gender of volunteers. On the first day of recovery period the levels of TLRs and pDCs were lower than before the isolation almost in all volunteers, however observed changes in pDCs were not statistically significant. These data suggest that, unfavorable factors of a space flight make immune system function differently compared to the normal conditions. This mobility of the immune system allows adaptation to the constantly fluctuating environment. However, the adaptive restructuring requires mobilization of functional resources at an early stage of adaptation, which can lead to depletion of reserve capabilities of the immune system.