title: Epitopes rationally selected through computational analyses induce T-cell proliferation in mice and are recognized by serum from individuals infected with Schistosoma mansoni.
abstract: Schistosomiasis is the second leading cause of death due to parasitic diseases in the world. Seeking an alternative for the control of disease, the World Health Organization funded the genome sequencing of the major species related to schistosomiasis to identify potential vaccines and therapeutic targets. Therefore, the aim of this work was to select T and B-cell epitopes from Schistosoma mansoni through computational analyses and evaluate the immunological potential of epitopes in vitro. Extracellular regions of membrane proteins from the Schistosoma mansoni were used to predict promiscuous epitopes with affinity to different human Major Histocompatibility Class II (MHCII) molecules by bioinformatics analysis. The three-dimensional structure of selected epitopes was constructed and used in molecular docking to verify the interaction with murine MHCII H2-IAb. In this process, four epitopes were selected and synthesized to assess their ability to stimulate proliferation of CD4+T lymphocytes in mice splenocyte cultures. The results showed that Sm041370 and Sm168240 epitopes induced significant cell proliferation. Additionally, the four epitopes were used as antigens in the Indirect Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) to assess the recognition by serum from individuals infected with Schistosoma mansoni. Sm140560, Sm168240, and Sm041370 epitopes were recognized by infected individuals IgG antibodies. Therefore, Sm041370 and Sm168240 epitopes that stood out in in silico and in vitro analyses could be promising antigens in schistosomiasis vaccine development or diagnostic kits. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 33:804-814, 2017.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Biologia Molecular, Universidade Federal de São João del-Rei, Rua Sebastião Gonçalves Coelho, Divinópolis, MG, Brasil.
authors.forename: Marcelo D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Lopes
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Biologia Molecular, Universidade Federal de São João del-Rei, Rua Sebastião Gonçalves Coelho, Divinópolis, MG, Brasil.
authors.forename: Flávio M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Química Farmacêutica, Universidade Federal de São João del-Rei, Divinópolis, MG, Brasil.
authors.forename: Ivan E V
authors.initials: IEV
authors.lastname: Coelho
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Síntese Orgânica e Nanoestruturas, Universidade Federal de São João del-Rei, Divinópolis, MG, Brasil.
authors.forename: Maria J F
authors.initials: MJF
authors.lastname: Passos
authors.affiliation: Grupo de Pesquisa em Biologia Parasitária e Imunologia, Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Belo Horizonte, MG, 30190-002, Brasil.
authors.forename: Clarice C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Alves
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Química Farmacêutica, Universidade Federal de São João del-Rei, Divinópolis, MG, Brasil.
authors.forename: Alex G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Taranto
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Química Farmacêutica, Universidade Federal de São João del-Rei, Divinópolis, MG, Brasil.
authors.forename: Moacyr C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Júnior
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Biologia Molecular, Universidade Federal de São João del-Rei, Rua Sebastião Gonçalves Coelho, Divinópolis, MG, Brasil.
authors.forename: Luciana L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.affiliation: Grupo de Pesquisa em Biologia Parasitária e Imunologia, Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Belo Horizonte, MG, 30190-002, Brasil.
authors.forename: Cristina T
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Fonseca
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Síntese Orgânica e Nanoestruturas, Universidade Federal de São João del-Rei, Divinópolis, MG, Brasil.
authors.forename: José A F P
authors.initials: JAFP
authors.lastname: Villar
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Biologia Molecular, Universidade Federal de São João del-Rei, Rua Sebastião Gonçalves Coelho, Divinópolis, MG, Brasil.
authors.forename: Débora O
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8559-8552
authors.initials: DO
authors.lastname: Lopes
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000502:physiology; D019295:Computational Biology / Q000379:methods; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D000939:Epitopes / Q000276:immunology*; D008285:Major Histocompatibility Complex / Q000276:immunology; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D012550:Schistosoma mansoni / Q000276:immunology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology* / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000939:Epitopes; D008565:Membrane Proteins
keywords: Schistosoma mansoni; bioinformatics; diagnosis; molecular modeling; vaccine targets