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.