Predicted Structural Variability of Mycobacterium tuberculosis PPE18 Protein With Immunological Implications Among Clinical Strains.

ABSTRACT: Recent advancements in vaccinology have led to the development of the M72/AS01E subunit vaccine, of which the major component is the Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) PPE18 protein. Previous studies have demonstrated the genetic variability of the gene encoding PPE18 protein and the resulting peptide changes in diverse clinical strains of MTB; however, none have modeled the structural changes resulting from these peptide changes and their immunological implications. In this study, we investigated the structural predictions of 29 variant PPE18 proteins previously reported. We found evidence that PPE18 is at least a two-domain protein, with a highly conserved first domain and a largely variable second domain that has different coevolutionary clusters. Further, we investigated putative

SUBMITTER: Hakim JMC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7819968 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature