Document Type : Original Research Article

Abstract

OmpA and OmpK36 from K. pneumoniae as the antigens and FliC from Salmonella typhimurium as the adjuvant were applied to construct a multi-epitope vaccine. B-cell, T-cell, and IL-17-epitopes were identified and a construct was modeled. Molecular docking was performed to assess the interaction between chimeric FliC and TLR-5. Downstream analysis including antigenicity, allergenicity, IFN-γ and IL-4 epitopes prediction was done. This construction covers both B-cell and T-cell epitopes as well as IFN-γ and IL-4 epitopes, but no IL-17 epitope was detected. We used two other known epitopes (IEDB epitope ID 43662 and epitope ID 57417) that induce the IL-17 release. According to the result, the multi-epitope protein is probable antigen and not an allergen. This construction was stable, hydrophilic, and has no transmembrane helixes. The computer-aided analysis imply that this protein is an acceptable candidate for immunization against K. pneumoniae.

Keywords

• Klebsiella pneumoniae
• multi-epitope vaccine
• chimeric protein
• in silico analysis