Outer membrane proteins-focused pseudomonas aeruginosa vaccine designed using reverse vaccinology

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVESAntibiotic resistance is recognized as a major threat to global health that can result in increased morbidity and mortality. On February ۲۷, ۲۰۱۷, the first list of antibiotic-resistant priority pathogens was published by the World Health Organization (WHO). These pathogens, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa, pose the greatest threat to human health. This research was conducted in order to introduce viable candidate vaccine proteins against Pseudomonas aeruginosa outer membrane proteins (OMPs) using reverse vaccinology approaches.MATERIALS AND METHODSFifty-eight clinical isolates and ۹۹۸۲ outer membrane protein sequences were retrieved for vaxign۲ calculation of sequence-derived features. First, ۳۰ proteins with the highest adhesion probability were selected, and in the next step, ۱۰ candidates common among the ۵۸ strains with the highest scores are introduced as candidates for further studies. After determining the physicochemical characteristics of these vaccine candidates, the presence of protected domains was predicted in ۲ out of ۱۰ proteins.RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONBased on the results obtained from the bioinformatics analysis of the antigenic properties of these proteins, we identified ۱۰ outer membrane proteins that have the highest antigenic scores, are common among all ۵۸ clinical isolates, have no human protein homologs, and have less than ۱ transmembrane helix. These candidate proteins have optimal physicochemical properties. And the presence of conserved domains was predicted only in the outer membrane porin F and enterobactin iron receptor.CONCLUSIONWe suggested ۱۰ candidate proteins that showed suitable characteristics including outer membrane protein F (OprF) and ferric enterobactin receptor.

Keywords:

Pseudomonas aeruginosa , reverse vaccinology , vaxign۲ , antibiotic resistance , vaccine candidate , outer membrane proteins , bioinformatics