scholarly journals In silico designing of vaccine candidate against Clostridium difficile

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Srijita Basak ◽  
Debashrito Deb ◽  
Utkarsh Narsaria ◽  
Tamalika Kar ◽  
Filippo Castiglione ◽  
...  

AbstractClostridium difficile is a spore-forming gram-positive bacterium, recognized as the primary cause of antibiotic-associated nosocomial diarrhoea. Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) has emerged as a major health-associated infection with increased incidence and hospitalization over the years with high mortality rates. Contamination and infection occur after ingestion of vegetative spores, which germinate in the gastro-intestinal tract. The surface layer protein and flagellar proteins are responsible for the bacterial colonization while the spore coat protein, is associated with spore colonization. Both these factors are the main concern of the recurrence of CDI in hospitalized patients. In this study, the CotE, SlpA and FliC proteins are chosen to form a multivalent, multi-epitopic, chimeric vaccine candidate using the immunoinformatics approach. The overall reliability of the candidate vaccine was validated in silico and the molecular dynamics simulation verified the stability of the vaccine designed. Docking studies showed stable vaccine interactions with Toll‐Like Receptors of innate immune cells and MHC receptors. In silico codon optimization of the vaccine and its insertion in the cloning vector indicates a competent expression of the modelled vaccine in E. coli expression system. An in silico immune simulation system evaluated the effectiveness of the candidate vaccine to trigger a protective immune response.

Author(s):  
Tamalika Ka ◽  
Utkarsh Narsaria ◽  
Srijita Basak ◽  
Debashrito De ◽  
Filippo Castiglion ◽  
...  

Abstract In the past two decades, 7 coronaviruses have infected the human population, with two major outbreaks caused by SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV in the year 2002 and 2012, respectively. Currently, the entire world is facing a pandemic of another coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, with a high fatality rate. The spike glycoprotein of SARS-CoV-2 mediates entry of virus into the host cell and is one of the most important antigenic determinants, making it a potential candidate for a vaccine. In this study, we have computationally designed a multi-epitope vaccine using spike glycoprotein of SARS-CoV-2. The overall quality of the candidate vaccine was validated in silico and Molecular Dynamics Simulation confirmed the stabilityof the designed vaccine. Docking studies revealed stable interactions of the vaccine with Toll Like Receptors and MHC Receptors. Codon optimization was used to optimize high expression of the vaccine in E.coli K-12 strain. In silico cloning suggested efficient expression in pET-28a (+) vector. The efficiency of the candidate vaccine to trigger an effective immune response was assessed by an in silico immune simulation. The computational analyses suggest that the designed multi-epitope vaccine is structurally stable which can induce specific immune responses and thus, can be a potential vaccine candidate against SARS-CoV-2.Authors Tamalika Kar, Utkarsh Narsaria, Srijita Basak, and Debashrito Deb contributed equally to this work.


2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 84-92
Author(s):  
Ragothaman M. Yennamalli ◽  
Pulkit Anupam Srivastava ◽  
Sheena D. Sarswati ◽  
Vijay Kumar Garlapati

Background: Bioactive peptides from κ-casein have immense therapeutic potential as prophylactic formulations. Among these, casoplatelin is a κ-casein derived bioactive peptide with anti-thrombotic activities. Aim: Herein, we report the production of casoplatelin in an E. coli expression system (using a pBAD vector) and show in silico modeling of its interactions. Methods: A synthetic DNA construct encoding casoplatelin was designed with pepsin cleavage sites before and after the synthetic construct to allow the release of the peptide from the pro-peptide. Results: A novel recombinant approach was demonstrated for the production of casoplatelin, and anti-platelet aggregation activities of the product were confirmed. Also, casoplatelin structures were characterized in silico and then implemented to determine potential structural interactions with fibrinogen. Conclusion: The present study showcases the recombinant approach for biopeptide production and its interaction with fibrinogen through in silico approach.


Author(s):  
Baskaran Subramani

  Objective: This study was intended to investigate and characterize the phytoconstituents of plant herbs and inhibitors, evaluate its anti-osteoarthritis (OA) and anti-inflammatory potential under in silico conditions.Methods: Docking studies were performed to find out the maximum interaction between design ligands and selected five proteins using Schrodinger Software NY. Structures of selected proteins were downloaded from protein data bank.Results: Morin, salubrinal, icariin, and chondroitin sulfate, and sesamol have higher binding energy than other compounds. Based on these properties out of 9 compounds we have selected 5 best-docked and compounds selected were molecular dynamics simulation with inhibitor of κβ kinase subunit (IKK) β. Arg20, Leu21, Thr23, Lys44, Glu61, Glu97, Cys99, Lys106, Asp145, Asn150, andAsp166 were actively involved in H-bond interaction with ligands. Each compound has different binding modes, which reflects the difference of interacting residues with different functional groups. Morin has better interaction than other compounds. Either Cys99 or Lys44 found predominantly in most of the complex except in β-ecdysterone whereas both found interacting with morin.Conclusion: The results revealed out that the herbal compounds can inhibit the IKKβ protein. The virtual screening yielded five potential IKKβ inhibitors: Morin, salubrinal, icariin, and chondroitin sulfate, and sesamol. This inhibitor shows good interaction, energy, and pharmacophoric activity and will be suitable for further experiments of an anti-OA target.


2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (35) ◽  
pp. 3776-3783
Author(s):  
Nebojša Pavlović ◽  
Maja Đanić ◽  
Bojan Stanimirov ◽  
Svetlana Goločorbin-Kon ◽  
Karmen Stankov ◽  
...  

Background: Resveratrol was demonstrated to act as partial agonist of PPAR-γ receptor, which opens up the possibility for its use in the treatment of metabolic disorders. Considering the poor bioavailability of resveratrol, particularly due to its low aqueous solubility, we aimed to identify analogues of resveratrol with improved pharmacokinetic properties and higher binding affinities towards PPAR-γ. Methods: 3D structures of resveratrol and its analogues were retrieved from ZINC database, while PPAR-γ structure was obtained from Protein Data Bank. Docking studies were performed using Molegro Virtual Docker software. Molecular descriptors relevant to pharmacokinetics were calculated from ligand structures using VolSurf+ software. Results: Using structural similarity search method, 56 analogues of resveratrol were identified and subjected to docking analyses. Binding energies were ranged from -136.69 to -90.89 kcal/mol, with 16 analogues having higher affinities towards PPAR-γ in comparison to resveratrol. From the calculated values of SOLY descriptor, 23 studied compounds were shown to be more soluble in water than resveratrol. However, only two tetrahydroxy stilbene derivatives, piceatannol and oxyresveratrol, had both better solubility and affinity towards PPAR-γ. These compounds also had more favorable ADME profile, since they were shown to be more metabolically stable and wider distributed in body than resveratrol. Conclusion: Piceatannol and oxyresveratrol should be considered as potential lead compounds for further drug development. Although experimental validation of obtained in silico results is required, this work can be considered as a step toward the discovery of new natural and safe drugs in treatment of metabolic disorders.


2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 215-221
Author(s):  
Haroon Khan ◽  
Muhammad Zafar ◽  
Helena Den-Haan ◽  
Horacio Perez-Sanchez ◽  
Mohammad Amjad Kamal

Aim and Objective: Lipoxygenase (LOX) enzymes play an important role in the pathophysiology of several inflammatory and allergic diseases including bronchial asthma, allergic rhinitis, atopic dermatitis, allergic conjunctivitis, rheumatoid arthritis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Inhibitors of the LOX are believed to be an ideal approach in the treatment of diseases caused by its over-expression. In this regard, several synthetic and natural agents are under investigation worldwide. Alkaloids are the most thoroughly investigated class of natural compounds with outstanding past in clinically useful drugs. In this article, we have discussed various alkaloids of plant origin that have already shown lipoxygenase inhibition in-vitro with possible correlation in in silico studies. Materials and Methods: Molecular docking studies were performed using MOE (Molecular Operating Environment) software. Among the ten reported LOX alkaloids inhibitors, derived from plant, compounds 4, 2, 3 and 1 showed excellent docking scores and receptor sensitivity. Result and Conclusion: These compounds already exhibited in vitro lipoxygenase inhibition and the MOE results strongly correlated with the experimental results. On the basis of these in vitro assays and computer aided results, we suggest that these compounds need further detail in vivo studies and clinical trial for the discovery of new more effective and safe lipoxygenase inhibitors. In conclusion, these results might be useful in the design of new and potential lipoxygenase (LOX) inhibitors.


Author(s):  
Maryam Iman ◽  
Hamid Bakhtiari Kaboutaraki ◽  
Rahim Jafari ◽  
Seyed Ayoub Hosseini ◽  
Abolghasem Moghimi ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 502-515
Author(s):  
Jayasimha R. Daddam ◽  
Basha Sreenivasulu ◽  
Katike Umamahesh ◽  
Kotha Peddanna ◽  
Dowlathabad M. Rao

Background: Alternative medicine is available for those diseases which cannot be treated by conventional medicine. Ayurveda and herbal medicines are important alternative methods in which the treatment is done with extracts of different medicinal plants. This work is concerned with the evaluation of anti-stress bioactive compounds from the ethanolic root extract of Hemidesmus indicus. Methods: Gas chromatography and Mass Spectrum studies are used to identify the compounds present in the ethanolic extract based on the retention time, area. In order to perform docking studies, Vasopressin model is generated using modeling by Modeller 9v7. Vasopressin structure is developed based on the crystal structure of neurophysin-oxytocin from Bos taurus (PDB ID: 1NPO_A) collected from the PDB data bank. Using molecular dynamics simulation methods, the final predicted structure is obtained and further analyzed by verifying 3D and PROCHECK programs, confirmed that the final model is reliable. The identified compounds are docked to vasopressin for the prediction of anti-stress activity using GOLD 3.0.1 software. Results: The predicted model of Vasopressin structure is stabilized and confirmed that it is a reliable structure for docking studies. The results indicated ARG4, THR7, ASP9, ASP26, ALA32, ALA 80 in Vasopressin are important determinant residues in binding as they have strong hydrogen bonding with phytocompounds. Among the 21 phytocompounds identified and docked, molecule Deoxiinositol, pentakis- O-(trimethylsilyl) showed the best docking results with Vasopressin. Conclusion: The identified compounds were used for anti-stress activity by insilico method with Vasopressin which plays an important role in causing stress and hence selected for inhibitory studies with phytocompounds. The phytocompounds are inhibiting vasopressin through hydrogen bodings and are important in protein-ligand interactions. Docking results showed that out of twenty-one compounds, Deoxiinositol, pentakis-O-(trimethylsilyl) showed best docking energy to the Vasopressin.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 223-235
Author(s):  
Pooja Shah ◽  
Vishal Chavda ◽  
Snehal Patel ◽  
Shraddha Bhadada ◽  
Ghulam Md. Ashraf

Background: Postprandial hyperglycemia considered to be a major risk factor for cerebrovascular complications. Objective: The current study was designed to elucidate the beneficial role of voglibose via in-silico in vitro to in-vivo studies in improving the postprandial glycaemic state by protection against strokeprone type 2 diabetes. Material and Methods: In-Silico molecular docking and virtual screening were carried out with the help of iGEMDOCK+ Pymol+docking software and Protein Drug Bank database (PDB). Based on the results of docking studies, in-vivo investigation was carried out for possible neuroprotective action. T2DM was induced by a single injection of streptozotocin (90mg/kg, i.v.) to neonates. Six weeks after induction, voglibose was administered at the dose of 10mg/kg p.o. for two weeks. After eight weeks, diabetic rats were subjected to middle cerebral artery occlusion, and after 72 hours of surgery, neurological deficits were determined. The blood was collected for the determination of serum glucose, CK-MB, LDH and lipid levels. Brains were excised for determination of brain infarct volume, brain hemisphere weight difference, Na+-K+ ATPase activity, ROS parameters, NO levels, and aldose reductase activity. Results: In-silico docking studies showed good docking binding score for stroke associated proteins, which possibly hypotheses neuroprotective action of voglibose in stroke. In the present in-vivo study, pre-treatment with voglibose showed a significant decrease (p<0.05) in serum glucose and lipid levels. Voglibose has shown significant (p<0.05) reduction in neurological score, brain infarct volume, the difference in brain hemisphere weight. On biochemical evaluation, treatment with voglibose produced significant (p<0.05) decrease in CK-MB, LDH, and NO levels in blood and reduction in Na+-K+ ATPase, oxidative stress, and aldose reductase activity in brain homogenate. Conclusion: In-silico molecular docking and virtual screening studies and in-vivo studies in MCAo induced stroke, animal model outcomes support the strong anti-stroke signature for possible neuroprotective therapeutics.


2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (31) ◽  
pp. 2731-2740 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandeep Tiwari ◽  
Debmalya Barh ◽  
M. Imchen ◽  
Eswar Rao ◽  
Ranjith K. Kumavath ◽  
...  

Background: Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Vibrio cholerae, and pathogenic Escherichia coli are global concerns for public health. The emergence of multi-drug resistant (MDR) strains of these pathogens is creating additional challenges in controlling infections caused by these deadly bacteria. Recently, we reported that Acetate kinase (AcK) could be a broad-spectrum novel target in several bacteria including these pathogens. Methods: Here, using in silico and in vitro approaches we show that (i) AcK is an essential protein in pathogenic bacteria; (ii) natural compounds Chlorogenic acid and Pinoresinol from Piper betel and Piperidine derivative compound 6-oxopiperidine-3-carboxylic acid inhibit the growth of pathogenic E. coli and M. tuberculosis by targeting AcK with equal or higher efficacy than the currently used antibiotics; (iii) molecular modeling and docking studies show interactions between inhibitors and AcK that correlate with the experimental results; (iv) these compounds are highly effective even on MDR strains of these pathogens; (v) further, the compounds may also target bacterial two-component system proteins that help bacteria in expressing the genes related to drug resistance and virulence; and (vi) finally, all the tested compounds are predicted to have drug-like properties. Results and Conclusion: Suggesting that, these Piper betel derived compounds may be further tested for developing a novel class of broad-spectrum drugs against various common and MDR pathogens.


2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-50
Author(s):  
Farzane Kargar ◽  
Amir Savardashtaki ◽  
Mojtaba Mortazavi ◽  
Masoud Torkzadeh Mahani ◽  
Ali Mohammad Amani ◽  
...  

Background: The 1,4-alpha-glucan branching protein (GlgB) plays an important role in the glycogen biosynthesis and the deficiency in this enzyme has resulted in Glycogen storage disease and accumulation of an amylopectin-like polysaccharide. Consequently, this enzyme was considered a special topic in clinical and biotechnological research. One of the newly introduced GlgB belongs to the Neisseria sp. HMSC071A01 (Ref.Seq. WP_049335546). For in silico analysis, the 3D molecular modeling of this enzyme was conducted in the I-TASSER web server. Methods: For a better evaluation, the important characteristics of this enzyme such as functional properties, metabolic pathway and activity were investigated in the TargetP software. Additionally, the phylogenetic tree and secondary structure of this enzyme were studied by Mafft and Prabi software, respectively. Finally, the binding site properties (the maltoheptaose as substrate) were studied using the AutoDock Vina. Results: By drawing the phylogenetic tree, the closest species were the taxonomic group of Betaproteobacteria. The results showed that the structure of this enzyme had 34.45% of the alpha helix and 45.45% of the random coil. Our analysis predicted that this enzyme has a potential signal peptide in the protein sequence. Conclusion: By these analyses, a new understanding was developed related to the sequence and structure of this enzyme. Our findings can further be used in some fields of clinical and industrial biotechnology.


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