The Correlation between Subolesin-Reactive Epitopes and Vaccine Efficacy
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Date
2022
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Vaccines
Abstract
Vaccination is an environmentally-friendly alternative for tick control. The tick antigen
Subolesin (SUB) has shown protection in vaccines for the control of multiple tick species in cattle.
Additionally, recent approaches in quantum vaccinomics have predicted SUB-protective epitopes
and the peptide sequences involved in protein–protein interactions in this tick antigen. Therefore, the
identification of B-cell–reactive epitopes by epitope mapping using a SUB peptide array could be essential
as a novel strategy for vaccine development. Subolesin can be used as a model to evaluate the
effectiveness of these approaches for the identification of protective epitopes related to vaccine protection
and efficacy. In this study, the mapping of B-cell linear epitopes of SUB from three different tick
species common in Uganda (Rhipicephalus appendiculatus, R. decoloratus, and Amblyomma variegatum)
was conducted using serum samples from two cattle breeds immunized with SUB-based vaccines.
The results showed that in cattle immunized with SUB from R. appendiculatus (SUBra) all the reactive
peptides (Z-score > 2) recognized by IgG were also significant (Z-ratio > 1.96) when compared to
the control group. Additionally, some of the reactive peptides recognized by IgG from the control
group were also recognized in SUB cocktail–immunized groups. As a significant result, cattle groups
that showed the highest vaccine efficacy were Bos indicus immunized with a SUB cocktail (92%), and
crossbred cattle were immunized with SUBra (90%) against R. appendiculatus ticks; the IgG from these
groups recognized overlapping epitopes from the peptide SPTGLSPGLSPVRDQPLFTFRQVGLICERMMKERESQIRDEYDHVLSAKLAEQYDTFVKFTYDQKRFEGATPSYLS
(Z-ratio > 1.96), which partially
corresponded to a Q38 peptide and the SUB protein interaction domain. These identified
epitopes could be related to the protection and efficacy of the SUB-based vaccines, and new chimeras
containing these protective epitopes could be designed using this new approach.
Description
Keywords
Subolesin, Q38, Epitope, Vaccine, Cattle, Quantum vaccinomics, Tick
Citation
Contreras, M.; Kasaija, P.D.; Kabi, F.; Mugerwa, S.; De la Fuente, J. The Correlation between Subolesin-Reactive Epitopes and Vaccine Efficacy. Vaccines 2022, 10, 1327. https://doi.org/10.3390/ vaccines10081327