Novel approach to porcine epidemic diarrhea vaccine development by reverse vaccinology

Abstract

Porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) affects most swine, causing severe diarrhea and rapid death. The mortality rate of piglets reaches up to 80%-100%, which affects the pig industry. This study aimed to develop a PED vaccine using reverse vaccinology applying bioinformatic tools and evaluate epitope-based vaccines in an animal model. The genome of PED virus (PEDV)-CBR1 was retrieved and used, following the prediction of open reading frames (ORFs) by ORF finder. Consequently, protein localization was predicted by the iLoc-Virus program. Target proteins were subjected to adhesin-like prediction followed by B-cell epitope prediction. Finally, three epitope-based vaccines were synthesized and injected in an animal model, and the mucosal antibody response was measured. The candidate vaccine can stimulate mucosal antibodies in different mucosal organs. In conclusion, reverse vaccinology can be applied in PED cases by using different bioinformatic tools and proofing in the animal model.