Predicting Antigenic Peptides from Rocio Virus NS1 Protein for Immunodiagnostic Testing Using Immunoinformatics and Molecular Dynamics Simulation

oleh: Marielena Vogel Saivish, Gabriela de Lima Menezes, Vivaldo Gomes da Costa, Gislaine Celestino Dutra da Silva, Rafael Elias Marques, MaurĂ­cio Lacerda Nogueira, Roosevelt Alves Da Silva

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2022-07-01

Deskripsi

The mosquito-borne disease caused by the Rocio virus is a neglected threat, and new immune inputs for serological testing are urgently required for diagnosis in low-resource settings and epidemiological surveillance. We used in silico approaches to identify a specific antigenic peptide (p_ROCV2) in the NS1 protein of the Rocio virus that was theoretically predicted to be stable and exposed on its surface, where it demonstrated key properties allowing it to interact with antibodies. These findings related to the molecular dynamics of this peptide provide important insights for advancing diagnostic platforms and investigating therapeutic alternatives.