Targeting ‘immunogenic hotspots’ in Dengue and Zika virus: an in silico approach to a common vaccine candidate: supplementary figure 1

Aim: Dengue and Zika viruses cause significant mortality globally. Considering high sequence similarity

between the viral proteins, we designed common multi-epitope vaccine candidates against these

pathogens. Methods: We identified multiple T and B cell epitope-rich conserved ‘immunogenic hotspots’

from highly antigenic and phylogenetically related viral proteins and used these to design the multiepitope

vaccine (MEV) candidates, ensuring high global population coverage. Results: Four MEV

candidates containing conserved immunogenic hotspots from E and NS5 proteins with the highest

structural integrity could favorably interact with TLR4-MD2 complex in molecular docking studies,

indicating activation of TLR-mediated immune responses. MEVs also induced memory responses in silico,

hallmarks of a good vaccine candidate. Conclusion: Conserved immunogenic hotspots can be utilized to

design cross-protective MEV candidates.