Integrative immunogenomic strategy for designing a multi-epitope vaccine against Zika and Dengue viruses

Two of the most prevalent illnesses spread by mosquitoes are the Dengue virus (DENV) and the Zika virus (ZIKV), both of which belong to the Flaviviridae family. Co-infection with ZIKV and DENV has been reported worldwide, sometimes with dire consequences. Developing a single vaccine capable of protecting against both pathogens would therefore be highly beneficial. In this research, an in-silico immunology strategy was employed to construct a multi-epitope, multi-pathogen vaccine targeting both viruses. Considering that DENV and ZIKV share the same mosquito vector, Aedes aegypti, and that its salivary proteins can facilitate viral infection, eleven CTL epitopes, five B-cell antigenic determinants, and twelve HTL epitopes were chosen for the final vaccine. Our DENV and ZIKV vaccine have 567 amino acids and molecular mass is 58603.84 amu. An in-silico 3D modelling process and a structural explanation of the model followed docking and dynamics simulations utilizing human TLR7 and TLR5 with docking scores of -392.81 and − 370.88, respectively. The immune reaction simulation suggests that the suggested vaccination may cause a significant immune response that can protect against both DENV and ZIKV.