In silico Identification and Validation of a Linear and Naturally Immunogenic B-Cell Epitope of the Plasmodium vivax Malaria Vaccine Candidate Merozoite Surface Protein-9.

ABSTRACT: Synthetic peptide vaccines provide the advantages of safety, stability and low cost. The success of this approach is highly dependent on efficient epitope identification and synthetic strategies for efficacious delivery. In malaria, the Merozoite Surface Protein-9 of Plasmodium vivax (PvMSP9) has been considered a vaccine candidate based on the evidence that specific antibodies were able to inhibit merozoite invasion and recombinant proteins were highly immunogenic in mice and humans. However the identities of linear B-cell epitopes within PvMSP9 as targets of functional antibodies remain undefined. We used several publicly-available algorithms for in silico analyses and prediction of relevant B cell epitopes within PMSP9. We show that the tandem repeat sequence EAAPENAEPVHENA (PvMSP9E795-

SUBMITTER: Rodrigues-da-Silva RN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4720479 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature