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Genome-wide analyses reveal a highly conserved Dengue virus envelope peptide which is critical for virus viability and antigenic in humans.

ABSTRACT: Targeting regions of proteins that show a high degree of structural conservation has been proposed as a method of developing immunotherapies and vaccines that may bypass the wide genetic variability of RNA viruses. Despite several attempts, a vaccine that protects evenly against the four circulating Dengue virus (DV) serotypes remains elusive. To find critical conserved amino acids in dengue viruses, 120 complete genomes of each serotype were selected at random and used to calculate conservation scores for nucleotide and amino acid sequences. The identified peptide sequences were analysed for their structural conservation and localisation using crystallographic data. The longest, surface exposed, highly conserved peptide of Envelope protein was found to correspond to amino acid residues 250 to 270. Mutation of this peptide in DV1 was lethal, since no replication of the mutant virus was detected in human cells. Antibodies against this peptide were detected in DV naturally infected patients indicating its potential antigenicity. Hence, this study has identified a highly conserved, critical peptide in DV that is a target of antibodies in infected humans.

SUBMITTER: Fleith RC

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5090869 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Genome-wide analyses reveal a highly conserved Dengue virus envelope peptide which is critical for virus viability and antigenic in humans.

Fleith Renata C RC Lobo Francisco P FP Dos Santos Paula F PF Rocha Mariana M MM Bordignon Juliano J Strottmann Daisy M DM Patricio Daniel O DO Pavanelli Wander R WR Lo Sarzi Maria M Santos Claudia N D CN Ferguson Brian J BJ Mansur Daniel S DS

Scientific reports 20161102

Targeting regions of proteins that show a high degree of structural conservation has been proposed as a method of developing immunotherapies and vaccines that may bypass the wide genetic variability of RNA viruses. Despite several attempts, a vaccine that protects evenly against the four circulating Dengue virus (DV) serotypes remains elusive. To find critical conserved amino acids in dengue viruses, 120 complete genomes of each serotype were selected at random and used to calculate conservation ...[more]

PMID: 27805018

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Project description:BackgroundThe sequence diversity of dengue virus (DENV) is one of the challenges in developing an effective vaccine against the virus. Highly conserved, serotype-specific (HCSS), immune-relevant DENV sequences are attractive candidates for vaccine design, and represent an alternative to the approach of selecting pan-DENV conserved sequences. The former aims to limit the number of possible cross-reactive epitope variants in the population, while the latter aims to limit the cross-reactivity between the serotypes to favour a serotype-specific response. Herein, we performed a large-scale systematic study to map and characterise HCSS sequences in the DENV proteome.MethodsAll reported DENV protein sequence data for each serotype was retrieved from the NCBI Entrez Protein (nr) Database (txid: 12637). The downloaded sequences were then separated according to the individual serotype proteins by use of BLASTp search, and subsequently removed for duplicates and co-aligned across the serotypes. Shannon's entropy and mutual information (MI) analyses, by use of AVANA, were performed to measure the diversity within and between the serotype proteins to identify HCSS nonamers. The sequences were evaluated for the presence of promiscuous T-cell epitopes by use of NetCTLpan 1.1 and NetMHCIIpan 3.2 server for human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I and class II supertypes, respectively. The predicted epitopes were matched to reported epitopes in the Immune Epitope Database.ResultsA total of 2321 nonamers met the HCSS selection criteria of entropy < 0.25 and MI > 0.8. Concatenating these resulted in a total of 337 HCSS sequences. DENV4 had the most number of HCSS nonamers; NS5, NS3 and E proteins had among the highest, with none in the C and only one in prM. The HCSS sequences were immune-relevant; 87 HCSS sequences were both reported T-cell epitopes/ligands in human and predicted epitopes, supporting the accuracy of the predictions. A number of the HCSS clustered as immunological hotspots and exhibited putative promiscuity beyond a single HLA supertype. The HCSS sequences represented, on average, ~ 40% of the proteome length for each serotype; more than double of pan-DENV sequences (conserved across the four serotypes), and thus offer a larger choice of sequences for vaccine target selection. HCSS sequences of a given serotype showed significant amino acid difference to all the variants of the other serotypes, supporting the notion of serotype-specificity.ConclusionThis work provides a catalogue of HCSS sequences in the DENV proteome, as candidates for vaccine target selection. The methodology described herein provides a framework for similar application to other pathogens.

Project description:The dramatic transformation of the Zika virus (ZIKV) from a relatively unknown virus to a pathogen generating global-wide panic has exposed the dearth of detailed knowledge about this virus. Decades of research in the related Dengue virus (DENV), finally culminating in a vaccine registered for use in endemic regions (CYD-TDV) in three countries, provides key insights in developing strategies for tackling ZIKV, which has caused global panic to microcephaly and Guillain-Barre Syndrome. Dengue virus (DENV), a member of the family Flaviviridae, the causal agent of the self-limiting Dengue fever and the potentially fatal hemorrhagic fever/dengue shock syndrome, has been a scourge in tropical countries for many centuries. The recently solved structure of mature ZIKV (PDB ID:5IRE) has provided key insights into the structure of the envelope (E) and membrane (M) proteins, the primary target of neutralizing antibodies. The previously established MEPP methodology compares two conformations of the same protein and identifies residues with significant spatial and electrostatic perturbations. In the current work, MEPP analyzed the pre-and post-fusion DENV type 2 envelope (E) protein, and identified several known epitopes (His317, Tyr299, Glu26, Arg188, etc.) (MEPPitope). These residues are overwhelmingly conserved in ZIKV and all DENV serotypes, and also enumerates residue pairs that undergo significant polarity reversal. Characterization of α-helices in E-proteins show that α1 is not conserved in the sequence space of ZIKV and DENV. Furthermore, perturbation of α1 in the post-fusion DENV structure includes a known epitope Asp215, a residue absent in the pre-fusion α1. A cationic β-sheet in the GAG-binding domain that is stereochemically equivalent in ZIKV and all DENV serotypes is also highlighted due to a residue pair (Arg286-Arg288) that has a significant electrostatic polarity reversal upon fusion. Finally, two highly conserved residues (Thr32 and Thr40), with little emphasis in existing literature, are found to have significant electrostatic perturbation. Thus, a combination of different computational methods enable the rapid and rational detection of critical residues as epitopes in the search for an elusive therapy or vaccine that neutralizes multiple members of the Flaviviridae family. These secondary structures are conserved in the related Dengue virus (DENV), and possibly rationalize isolation techniques particle adsorption on magnetic beads coated with anionic polymers and anionic antiviral agents (viprolaxikine) for DENV. These amphipathic α-helices could enable design of molecules for inhibiting α-helix mediated protein-protein interactions. Finally, comparison of these secondary structures in proteins from related families illuminate subtle changes in the proteins that might render them ineffective to previously successful drugs and vaccines, which are difficult to identify by a simple sequence or structural alignment. Finally, conflicting results about residues that are involved in neutralizing a DENV-E protein by the potent antibody 5J7 (PDB ID:3J6U) are reported.

Dataset Information

Genome-wide analyses reveal a highly conserved Dengue virus envelope peptide which is critical for virus viability and antigenic in humans.

Publications

Genome-wide analyses reveal a highly conserved Dengue virus envelope peptide which is critical for virus viability and antigenic in humans.

Similar Datasets

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