ABSTRACT
Helicobacter pylori is a leading cause of stomach cancer and peptic ulcers. Thus, identifying epitopes in H. pylori antigens is important for disease etiology, immunological surveillance, enhancing early detection tests, and developing optimal epitope-based vaccines. We used immunoinformatic and computational methods to create a potential CagW epitope candidate for H. pylori protection. The cagW gene of H. pylori was amplified and cloned into pcDNA3.1 (+) for injection into the muscles of healthy BALB/c mice to assess the impact of the DNA vaccine on interleukin levels. The results will be compared to a control group of mice that received PBS or cagW-pcDNA3.1 (+) vaccinations. An analysis of CagW protein antigens revealed 8 CTL and 7 HTL epitopes linked with AYY and GPGPG, which were enhanced by adding B-defensins to the N-terminus. The vaccine's immunogenicity, allergenicity, and physiochemistry were validated, and its strong activation of TLRs (1, 2, 3, 4, and 10) suggests it is antigenic. An in-silico cloning and immune response model confirmed the vaccine's expression efficiency and predicted its impact on the immune system. An immunofluorescence experiment showed stable and bioactive cagW gene expression in HDF cells after cloning the whole genome into pcDNA3.1 (+). In vivo vaccination showed that pcDNA3.1 (+)-cagW-immunized mice had stronger immune responses and a longer plasmid DNA release window than control-plasmid-immunized mice. After that, bioinformatics methods predicted, developed, and validated the three-dimensional structure. Many online services docked it with Toll-like receptors. The vaccine was refined using allergenicity, antigenicity, solubility, physicochemical properties, and molecular docking scores. Virtual-reality immune system simulations showed an impressive reaction. Codon optimization and in-silico cloning produced E. coli-expressed vaccines. This study suggests a CagW epitopes-protected H. pylori infection. These studies show that the proposed immunization may elicit particular immune responses against H. pylori, but laboratory confirmation is needed to verify its safety and immunogenicity.
Subject(s)
Helicobacter Infections , Helicobacter pylori , Vaccines , Animals , Mice , Helicobacter pylori/genetics , Immunodominant Epitopes , Helicobacter Infections/prevention & control , Molecular Docking Simulation , Escherichia coli , Epitopes/geneticsABSTRACT
The Royal Chemistry Society/Society of Chemistry Industry (RSC/SCI) Medicinal Chemistry Symposium is a key symposium in the field of medicinal chemistry that takes place every 2 years at the University of Cambridge, U.K., under the auspices of the RSC and the SCI. This year, in its 21st edition, it was run as a hybrid event, simultaneously attended by both in-person and virtual attendees. Its theme was 'Improving Success', and 25 orals and 30 posters were presented. The scientific program covered recent medicinal chemistry achievements in major therapeutic areas, with a few first-time structure disclosure presentations and particular emphasis on emerging early-stage drug discovery and lead optimization strategies, including reports of successful case studies illustrating fragment-based screening and phenotypic target engagement approaches. Applications of artificial intelligence (AI), mass spectrometry and photochemistry in drug design and discovery were also highlighted. This report will cover some of the medicinal chemistry presentations delivered at the meeting.
ABSTRACT
The American Chemical Society (ACS)'s National Meeting and Exposition is a premier networking and education event for the global chemistry community, with an astounding program of scientific sessions covering all fields of chemistry. The 263rd edition of ACS meeting, with the theme 'Bonding through chemistry,' was held both on site at the San Diego Convention Center and virtually allowing for an almost return to normal meeting attendance since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The meeting spanned over 5 days of sessions comprising 11,359 s programmed with 9,282 in-person registrants and 3,284 virtual registrants. Posters and oral presentations were either in person, virtual or both, with live interaction possible either in a room and/or online. This report highlights some of the medicinal chemistry presentations delivered at the meeting. © 2022 Prous Science. All rights reserved.