IN SILICO DESIGN OF B-CELL EPITOPE BASED PEPTIDE VACCINE FOR VARICELLA ZOSTER VIRUS

Abstract

More than 90% of the world's population has the varicella zoster virus (VZV) or better known as herpes zoster (snakepox/shingles) when they are exposed to chickenpox as children. The majority of children infected with chickenpox will recover. However, this virus can "sleep" for decades in the body and one-third of people with this virus can suddenly become active again in the form of herpes zoster or shingles. Herpes zoster or snake pox is a disease characterized by the appearance of a rash and water-filled nodules accompanied by pain on one side of the body. Herpes zoster can cause a painful rash as well as a wide spectrum of complications such as ischemic stroke which occurs when the blood supply to the brain is restricted by narrowed arteries or blocked by clots. Therefore, vaccines are needed as a preventive measure. Epitope-based peptide vaccines have advantages in terms of both selectivity and safety. The use of computational methods is a cost-effective way to develop vaccines. In this study the aim was to look at the ZVZ glycoprotein E protein sequence conservation areas using the in-silico method, to see the potential for the most immunogenic epitope of the protein sequence. Varicella zoster virus as a vaccine candidate through in-silico use. Some of the software and websites used are MEGA-X, IEDB, VaxiJen 2.0, BLASTp NCBI. Of the 7 sequences that have been collected, 3 candidate epitopes have antigenic properties and have also passed the similarity test so that they have the potential to develop peptide vaccines including: KGDLNPKPQGQ, PPATTKPKE, PAIQHICLKHTTCFQDVVVDVDCA