Vaccinomics to Design a Multiepitope Vaccine against Legionella pneumophila

Legionella pneumophila is found in the natural aquatic environment and can resist a wide range of environmental conditions. There are around fifty species of Legionella, at least twenty-four of which are directly linked to infections in humans. L. pneumophila is the cause of Legionnaires' disease, a potentially lethal form of pneumonia. By blocking phagosome-lysosome fusion, L. pneumophila lives and proliferates inside macrophages. For this disease, there is presently no authorized multiepitope vaccine available. For the multi-epitope-based vaccine (MEBV), the best antigenic candidates were identified using immunoinformatics and subtractive proteomic techniques. Several immunoinformatics methods were utilized to predict B and T cell epitopes from vaccine candidate proteins. To construct an in silico vaccine, epitopes (07 CTL, 03 HTL, and 07 LBL) were carefully selected and docked with MHC molecules (MHC-I and MHC-II) and human TLR4 molecules. To increase the immunological response, the vaccine was combined with a 50S ribosomal adjuvant. To maximize vaccine protein expression, MEBV was cloned and reverse-translated in Escherichia coli. To prove the MEBV's efficacy, more experimental validation is required. After its development, the resulting vaccine is greatly hoped to aid in the prevention of L. pneumophila infections.

Automated summary

Legionella pneumophila is a bacterium found in natural aquatic environments, able to withstand different environmental conditions. It is responsible for Legionnaires' disease, a dangerous form of pneumonia, and there is currently no authorized vaccine available. Through immunoinformatics and proteomic techniques, potential antigen candidates for a multi-epitope-based vaccine were identified. A vaccine was constructed in silico, combining selected epitopes with MHC and TLR4 molecules and a 50S ribosomal adjuvant. Experimental validation is needed to confirm the vaccine's efficacy in preventing L. pneumophila infections.