Evolutionary analysis and prediction of peptide vaccine candidates for Nipah virus fusion protein

Abstract

Nipah virus (NiV) is classified as a biosafety level 4(BSL-4) agent for being a deadly pathogen, having a broad host range including human and showing the high mortality rate associated with severe encephalitis along with other clinical manifestations. Recently, it was reported that monocytes, natural killer cells and CD4+/CD8+ T cells support Nipah virus replication, which may facilitate dissemination of the virus during pathogenesis. Both B and T cell epitopes were designed against and mapped on the three-dimensional structure of the fusion(F) glycoproteins of Nipah virus that were circulating in South and Southeast Asia since 1999. To support the potentiality of the epitopes chosen for peptide vaccine, other chemical attributes were checked for finding the suitability of epitopes. Phylogenetic relationship and selection pressure were also analyzed to find out the diversity and evolutionary effects on amino acid level. After sifting through various methods, the epitopes with the highest probability were chosen for the putative peptide vaccine against Nipah virus.