Integrated reiterative pipeline for rapid epitope-based pan-alphavirus vaccines

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Authors: Alice F. Versiani, Peter McCaffrey, Ribeiro-Filho, Helder Veras, 1988-, Natalia I. O. Silva, Paulo S Lopes-de-Oliveira, Jean‐Paul Carrera, Maurício Lacerda Nogueira, Rafael Elias Marques, Shannan L. Rossi, Nikos Vasilakis
Cited by: 2
References: 77

Abstract

The vast diversity of the virosphere underscores the need for rapid, adaptable vaccine development infrastructures. Arthropod-borne zoonotic alphaviruses, in particular, continue to pose substantial threats to human and animal health. We present a fast, multitarget vaccine design pipeline integrating machine learning-based epitope prediction, protein modeling, and docking to prioritize viral peptides by immunogenicity, allele coverage, solubility, and stability. T cell epitopes were validated using peptide microarrays and molecular dynamics simulations, confirming receptor binding accuracy. Flow cytometry of murine and human peripheral blood mononuclear cells demonstrated robust T cell activation and cytokine secretion (IFN-γ, TNF-α, or IL-2), dependent on species and HLA allele. Final candidates were selected by composite immunogenicity scores. While this study primarily validates the T cell-specific arm of our predictive pipeline, complementary B cell epitope analyses are ongoing. Our findings support the development of broadly protective pan-alphaviral vaccines and the establishment of efficient, tunable processes for global vaccine development.

Fields of Study & Subjects

vaccines and immunoinformatics approaches Viral Infections and Outbreaks Research Immunotherapy and Immune Responses

Publication details

Journal / source
Science Advances
Publisher
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Volume
12
Issue
11
Pages
eaeb2066–eaeb2066
Publication date
11 March 2026
Language
EN