In silico design and immunoinformatics evaluation of a multi-epitope subunit vaccine targeting the hemagglutinin–neuraminidase protein of Sosuga virus

In silico design and immunoinformatics evaluation of a multi-epitope subunit vaccine targeting the hemagglutinin–neuraminidase protein of Sosuga virus | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article In silico design and immunoinformatics evaluation of a multi-epitope subunit vaccine targeting the hemagglutinin–neuraminidase protein of Sosuga virus Vijayabharathi Saravanan, Dharshini Jaisankar, Monisha Punniyakotti This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9510084/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Sosuga virus (SOSV), an emerging zoonotic member of the Paramyxoviridae family, poses a potential threat to global health due to the absence of licensed vaccines or targeted antiviral therapies. In the present study, an immunoinformatics-based approach was employed to design a multi-epitope subunit vaccine targeting the hemagglutinin–neuraminidase (HN) glycoprotein of SOSV. B-cell and T-cell epitopes were predicted and screened based on antigenicity, allergenicity, toxicity, and population coverage. Selected epitopes were assembled using appropriate linkers, and β-defensin was incorporated as an adjuvant to enhance immunogenic potential. The designed vaccine construct was evaluated for physicochemical properties, structural stability, and immunological relevance. Tertiary structure modeling and refinement provided a stable structural framework with moderate stereochemical quality. Molecular docking analyses with MHC class I, MHC class II, and Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) indicated favorable interaction patterns, suggesting the potential for receptor engagement. Normal mode analysis supported the structural stability and flexibility of the docked complexes. Immune simulation predicted the induction of both humoral and cellular immune responses, characterized by antibody production, memory cell formation, and cytokine release. Codon optimization and in silico cloning further indicated the feasibility of expression in an Escherichia coli system. Overall, the proposed multi-epitope vaccine construct demonstrates promising immunological and structural characteristics in silico. However, further experimental validation through in vitro and in vivo studies is required to confirm its safety, immunogenicity, and protective efficacy. Sosuga virus hemagglutinin-neuraminidase β-defensin TLR4 MHC class I MHC class II Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9510084","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":630984488,"identity":"3c1aa5b8-c7a6-4381-96cb-cd13c718e56b","order_by":0,"name":"Vijayabharathi Saravanan","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABDElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACg8MMCQwMFf/t+JkZGww+AEXY2InScoY5WbK9+UDhDJAWZkJaDgAJxjZmxg1njiV85gEJEdIi2c7w8DMPG9DoGzmGm21+bZPnY2Zg/PAxB4+WZoZkaR4eHj7GGTnGxrl9tw3bmBmYJWduw6slQZpHQoKZWSLHzDi35zbQkUDv8OLRws/MkPybx8CAsU0ix/y3Zc9te2K0pEnzJCQw9vAcSzBm+HE7kaAWoL/TLOccOJAswd58wLC34XYyMPSa8fqFjf9M8o23/w7Y2R8GRuWPP7dt57c3H/zwEY8WBgaeBCYeGJuxDUw24FMPBOwHGH/AOX8IKB4Fo2AUjIIRCQAAoU9JY/VbjwAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"SRM Institute of Science and Technology","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Vijayabharathi","middleName":"","lastName":"Saravanan","suffix":""},{"id":630984491,"identity":"96a80525-88f3-49a6-b25e-ca2d0c8dfaec","order_by":1,"name":"Dharshini Jaisankar","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Saveetha College of Pharmacy, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Dharshini","middleName":"","lastName":"Jaisankar","suffix":""},{"id":630984492,"identity":"f13bb1e5-89e5-4dca-bb3f-0dc2b06cdf75","order_by":2,"name":"Monisha Punniyakotti","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"PSG Institute of Medical Sciences \u0026 Research","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Monisha","middleName":"","lastName":"Punniyakotti","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-04-23 19:38:21","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":false,"vertebrateSubjects":false,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false,"humanSubjectConsent":false,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9510084/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9510084/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":109205414,"identity":"361ad172-1f71-46e7-85a6-e7481366a562","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-05-13 15:04:39","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":865018,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Insilicodesignandimmunoinformatics.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9510084/v1_covered_8873cafa-0645-42cd-8dc5-eaf404d7959e.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"In silico design and immunoinformatics evaluation of a multi-epitope subunit vaccine targeting the hemagglutinin–neuraminidase protein of Sosuga virus","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":true,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Sosuga virus, hemagglutinin-neuraminidase, β-defensin, TLR4, MHC class I, MHC class II","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9510084/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9510084/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eSosuga virus (SOSV), an emerging zoonotic member of the Paramyxoviridae family, poses a potential threat to global health due to the absence of licensed vaccines or targeted antiviral therapies. In the present study, an immunoinformatics-based approach was employed to design a multi-epitope subunit vaccine targeting the hemagglutinin–neuraminidase (HN) glycoprotein of SOSV. B-cell and T-cell epitopes were predicted and screened based on antigenicity, allergenicity, toxicity, and population coverage. Selected epitopes were assembled using appropriate linkers, and β-defensin was incorporated as an adjuvant to enhance immunogenic potential.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe designed vaccine construct was evaluated for physicochemical properties, structural stability, and immunological relevance. Tertiary structure modeling and refinement provided a stable structural framework with moderate stereochemical quality. Molecular docking analyses with MHC class I, MHC class II, and Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) indicated favorable interaction patterns, suggesting the potential for receptor engagement. Normal mode analysis supported the structural stability and flexibility of the docked complexes. Immune simulation predicted the induction of both humoral and cellular immune responses, characterized by antibody production, memory cell formation, and cytokine release. Codon optimization and in silico cloning further indicated the feasibility of expression in an Escherichia coli system.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOverall, the proposed multi-epitope vaccine construct demonstrates promising immunological and structural characteristics in silico. However, further experimental validation through in vitro and in vivo studies is required to confirm its safety, immunogenicity, and protective efficacy.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"In silico design and immunoinformatics evaluation of a multi-epitope subunit vaccine targeting the hemagglutinin–neuraminidase protein of Sosuga virus","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-05-13 07:14:01","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9510084/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"18ee2eaa-dc76-4ab3-9d9c-c532eb758014","owner":[],"postedDate":"May 13th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-05-13T07:14:01+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-05-13 07:14:01","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-9510084","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-9510084","identity":"rs-9510084","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}