Title
Multi-epitope vaccine design against Clostridioides difficile using the ABC-type transport system protein
Authors
T.S. Abirami#, Prasanthi Saravana#, U. Shalini, G. Prasanth, S. Swathi & Abhinand Ponneri Adhithavarman*
Affiliation
Department of Bioinformatics, Sri Ramachandra Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research, Chennai - 6000 116, Tamil Nadu, India; *Corresponding author, #Both authors contributed equally
TS Abirami - E - mail: abiramisankar1909@gmail.com
Prasanthi Saravana - E - mail: prasanthisaravana@gmail.com
U Shalini - E - mail: shaliniurumaiya@gmail.com
G Prasanth - E - mail: prasanthgovindraj2001@gmail.com
S Swathi - E - mail: swathisudhakaran18@gmail.com
Abhinand Ponneri Adhithavarman - E - mail: abhinandpa@sret.edu.in
Article Type
Research Article
Date
Received May 1, 2025; Revised May 31, 2025; Accepted May 31, 2025, Published May 31, 2025
Abstract
Clostridioides difficile is a major cause of antibiotic-associated nosocomial diarrhoea with increasing global incidence and nearly one million annual cases reported in India. Therefore, it is of interest to design a multi-epitope vaccine design against Clostridioides difficile the ABC-type transport system protein. Hence, B-cell, CTL and HTL epitopes were predicted using BepiPred-2.0, NetCTL 1.2 and NetMHCIIpan 4.0. Thus, a 66-amino-acid epitope construct with AAY and GPGPG spacers for the TLR3 adjuvant to enhance immunogenicity was reported for further consideration. The construct was validated for antigenicity, non-allergenicity and physicochemical stability. Structural modelling, molecular docking with TLR3 (PDB ID: 2A0Z) and 100-ns molecular dynamics simulations showed excellent structural stability (RMSD ~0.1 Å) and receptor binding affinity, while immune simulations via C-ImmSim indicated strong B- and T-cell responses with elevated IFN-γ and IL-2 levels, supporting its potential as a safe, effective, and targeted prophylactic against C. difficile infections.
Keywords
C. difficile, epitope, antigen, antibody, docking, immune simulation, SGD3, good health and well-being
Citation
Abirami et al. Bioinformation 21(5): 990-996 (2025)
Edited by
P Kangueane
ISSN
0973-2063
Publisher
License
This is an Open Access article which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. This is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.
