This article and associated images are based on a poster originally authored by Divya Vemula and Vasundhra Bhandari and presented at ELRIG Drug Discovery 2025 in affiliation with the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER).
This poster is being hosted on this website in its raw form, without modifications. It has not undergone peer review but has been reviewed to meet AZoNetwork's editorial quality standards. The information contained is for informational purposes only and should not be considered validated by independent peer assessment.
Background
Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a WHO-designated multidrug-resistant pathogen, causes severe hospital infections. With no vaccine against it, this study aims to design a multi-epitope vaccine to prevent infections caused by P. aeruginosa using reverse vaccinology and immunoinformatics.
The researchers have screened the full proteome (5,563 proteins) to identify non-human homologous, stable, non-allergenic, adhesive, and immunogenic proteins. Furthermore, shortlisted proteins (Probable coat protein A of bacteriophage Pf1, alkaline phosphatase L, and a secreted protein) were evaluated for B-cell, CTL, and HTL epitopes.
Six multi-epitope constructs (DV1–DV6) with different adjuvants were designed, followed by structural validation and assessment through docking with TLR2/TLR4 and molecular dynamics simulation studies. Among them, DV5 (HBHA-conserved adjuvant) showed the strongest receptor interactions, high stability, and 98.47 % predicted global HLA coverage. Hence, our results conclude that DV5 is a promising multi-epitope vaccine candidate against P. aeruginosa, utilizing reverse vaccinology in combating MDR pathogens.
Hypothesis
Image Credit: Image courtesy of Divya Vemula et al., in partnership with ELRIG (UK) Ltd.
Methodology
Image Credit: Image courtesy of Divya Vemula et al., in partnership with ELRIG (UK) Ltd.
Results
A. P. aeruginosa proteome screening
Image Credit: Image courtesy of Divya Vemula et al., in partnership with ELRIG (UK) Ltd.
B. Physicochemical properties of vaccine targets
Image Credit: Image courtesy of Divya Vemula et al., in partnership with ELRIG (UK) Ltd.
C. Epitope docking and free energy analysis
Image Credit: Image courtesy of Divya Vemula et al., in partnership with ELRIG (UK) Ltd.
D. Multi-epitope vaccine construction
Image Credit: Image courtesy of Divya Vemula et al., in partnership with ELRIG (UK) Ltd.
E. Physicochemical properties of vaccine constructs
Image Credit: Image courtesy of Divya Vemula et al., in partnership with ELRIG (UK) Ltd.
F. Docking of vaccine constructs with TLR2
Image Credit: Image courtesy of Divya Vemula et al., in partnership with ELRIG (UK) Ltd.
G. Docking of vaccine constructs with TLR4
Image Credit: Image courtesy of Divya Vemula et al., in partnership with ELRIG (UK) Ltd.
Source: ELRIG (UK) Ltd.
H. Molecular dynamics simulation of vaccine constructs with TLR2 & 4
Image Credit: Image courtesy of Divya Vemula et al., in partnership with ELRIG (UK) Ltd.
RMSD and RMSF analysis confirmed DV5 as the most stable construct, with strong structural integrity and receptor binding.
I. Population coverage analysis
Source: ELRIG (UK) Ltd.
| Population |
MHC Class I & II combined |
| Coveragea |
Average hitb |
pc90c |
| World |
98.47 % |
2.82 |
1.72 |
a Projected population coverage
b Avg no. of epitope hits / HLA combinations recognized by population
c Min no. of epitope hits / HLA combinations recognized by 90 % of the population
K. Codon optimization & in-silico cloning
- DV5 (Designed Vaccine Construct 5; 2199 base pairs, Guanine–Cytosine content 60.48 %, Codon Adaptation Index 0.89) was codon-optimized using JCat for high-level expression in E. coli.
- The optimized gene was cloned into pET-28a(+) with an N-terminal 6xHis-tag under the T7 promoter. SnapGene validation confirmed the correct reading frame, restriction sites, and tag fusion, supporting efficient expression and purification. This construct bridges in silico vaccine design with experimental validation.
Conclusion
A multi-epitope vaccine against Pseudomonas aeruginosa was designed using reverse vaccinology and immunoinformatics. The construct included antigenic, nontoxic, non-allergenic epitopes with adjuvants to enhance immune response. It showed favorable physicochemical properties, stable immune receptor interactions, and broad HLA coverage.DV5 emerged as the most promising candidate for experimental validation.
References
- Priyamvada, P. and Ramaiah, S. (2023). Pan-genome and reverse vaccinology approaches to design multi-epitope vaccine against Epstein-Barr virus associated with colorectal cancer, Immunologic Research, 71(6), pp. 887–908. DOI: 10.1007/s12026-023-09403-2. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12026-023-09403-2.
- Ren, S. et al. (2019). Design and evaluation of a multi-epitope assembly peptide vaccine against Acinetobacter baumannii infection in mice, Swiss Medical Weekly, 149(2324), p. w20052. DOI: 10.4414/smw.2019.20052. https://smw.ch/index.php/smw/article/view/2627.
- Guedes, R.L.M. et al. (2018). A comparative in silico linear B-cell epitope prediction and characterization for South American and African Trypanosoma vivax strains, Genomics, 111(3), pp. 407–417. DOI: 10.1016/j.ygeno.2018.02.017. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0888754318301265?via%3Dihub.
- Li, J. et al. (2021). Reverse vaccinology approach for the identifications of potential vaccine candidates against Salmonella, International Journal of Medical Microbiology, 311(5), p. 151508. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijmm.2021.151508. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1438422121000370?via%3Dihub.
Acknowledgement
The author gratefully acknowledges the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), Hyderabad, and the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Government of India, for providing research infrastructure, computational facilities, and software support. The author also sincerely thanks the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India, under the Conference, Travel, Exhibition and Popular Lectures (CTEP) scheme, for travel grant support to present this work at ELRIG Drug Discovery 2025, Liverpool, UK.
About NIPER Hyderabad
The National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), Hyderabad, is an Institute of National Importance, established with the objective of becoming a centre of excellence for advanced research in pharmaceutical sciences.
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Last Updated: Jan 6, 2026