Multi-Epitope Vaccine Design Against Candida species

Abstract

Invasive candidiasis is a yeast infection caused by Candida albicans and non-albicans Candida species. The development of improved preventative measures against invasive candidiasis is necessitated by the advent of antifungal-resistant species and high systemic toxicity. To date, invasive candidiasis has yet to be demonstrated to be treatable with vaccination or medicine. In this study, we employed in silico immunoinformatic approaches to identify the most immunodominant B-cell and T-cell (MHC class I and MHC class II ) epitopes among our selected antigenic Candida proteins in order to strengthen the immune system's defences against invasive Candida infections. These proteins are necessary for infecting host cells and controlling the immune system of the host. The final antigenic epitopes chosen are non-allergenic to the host, as a vaccine should not elicit an allergic reaction in the patient after administration. Molecular linkers will be used to connect the identified potential epitopes in our future work to generate a multi-epitope vaccination against Candida species, and then finally, the 3D structure of the vaccine construct will be developed.