IN SILICO DESIGN OF A MULTI-EPITOPE VACCINE AGAINST THE INFLUENZA B VIRUS MATRIX 1 (M1) PROTEIN
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.71146/kjmr1012Keywords:
Influenza B virus, Matrix 1 protein, multi-epitope vaccine, immunoinformatics, epitope prediction, molecular docking, in silico vaccine designAbstract
Influenza B virus (IBV) is a major cause of seasonal influenza epidemics, contributing substantially to global morbidity and mortality, particularly among children and the elderly. Current seasonal vaccines primarily target the surface glycoproteins haemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA), which are highly variable and subject to antigenic drift, limiting long-term vaccine effectiveness. The Matrix 1 (M1) protein, an internal structural protein essential for viral assembly, budding and replication, is far more conserved across IBV strains and lineages, making it an attractive target for a broadly protective vaccine. This study used an immunoinformatics approach to design and characterise a multi-epitope vaccine against the M1 protein of IBV. The M1 protein sequence was retrieved from NCBI and validated for antigenicity, allergenicity and toxicity before being screened for linear B-cell and T-cell (MHC class I and II) epitopes using IEDB prediction tools. Epitopes that were antigenic, non-allergenic and non-toxic were combined with the adjuvant 50S ribosomal protein L7/L12 and appropriate linkers (EAAAK, GPGPG and AYY) into a single multi-epitope construct terminating in a 6xHis purification tag. The physicochemical properties, secondary and tertiary structure, population coverage, molecular docking against immune receptors, codon optimisation, in silico cloning, immune simulation and molecular dynamics behaviour of the construct were then evaluated. The final vaccine construct comprised 895 amino acids incorporating 32 MHC class I, 30 MHC class II and 3 B-cell epitopes, and was predicted to cover 97.82% of the world population when class I and II responses were combined. The construct was stable, thermostable and basic in nature, formed stable docking interactions with HLA-A*02:01 and TLR4, expressed favourable codon adaptation for E. coli, and elicited a simulated antibody response (IgM and IgG1/IgG2) consistent with an effective humoral immune response. These findings indicate that a multi-epitope vaccine directed against the conserved M1 protein of IBV is a computationally promising candidate for broader, more durable protection against influenza B, warranting further in vitro and in vivo validation.
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