In silico prediction of Leishmania major‐specific CD8⁺ epitopes

Abstract

Infections with Leishmania (L.) major induce protective IFN‐γ‐dependent Th1/Tc1 immunity in C57BL/6 mice as well as in immunocompetent humans. Even though antigen‐specific immunity provides lifelong immunity against reinfection, a vaccine against this pathogen does not yet exist. Here, we compared the results obtained from in silico predictions of murine CD8‐specific L. major peptides using the algorithm SYFPEITHI with the number and predicted affinity of known proteins/peptides. Our results indicate that the majority of “immunodominant” epitopes of L. major have not been identified so far; thus, computer‐based prediction algorithms may aid the development of an effective vaccine.

Alternative to Chemotherapy—The Unmet Demand against Leishmaniasis

“…Although the host defense mechanisms against leishmaniasis is not raveled completely, till date studies decipher the requirement of T cell-mediated response in controlling parasite infection. In silico approach of mining the proteome of parasites and analysis of the candidate antigens have helped in identifying both MHC class I- and class II-restricted T-cell epitope against L. donovani and L. major , which may serve as highly promiscuous peptides for developing subunit vaccine ( 74 – 76 ). Seyed et al used in silico prediction to screen six L. major antigens for potential CD8 + T cell-activating epitopes presented by HLA-A*0201 ( 68 ).…”