Proteomic Analysis of Fasciola hepatica for the Identification of VaccineCandidates and Diagnostic Tools

Background: Fasciola hepatica, commonly known as the common liver fluke, is a parasitictrematode that significantly impacts both human and animal health, particularly in livestock suchas sheep and cattle, leading to substantial economic losses in the agricultural sector. Theimportance of Fasciola hepatica lies in its role as a causative agent of fasciolosis, a neglectedtropical disease that affects millions worldwide, highlighting the need for improved diagnosticand preventive measures to mitigate its global impactObjective: The objective of this study was to analyze all proteins of Fasciola hepatica recordedin the World Gene Bank. The goal was to identify proteins with high antigenicity and to selectappropriate epitopes for potential use in vaccine development or as diagnostic tools for thisparasite across various host species.Result and discussion: In this study, a total of ۱۵۱۷۷ protein sequences were retrieved inFASTA format from the NCBI database. Using the SignalP ۶.۰ server, it was determined that۱۱۱۴ of these proteins contained signal peptides, which are essential for directing proteins totheir respective cellular locations. Subsequently, the subcellular localization of these signalpeptide-bearing proteins was analyzed with the DeepLoc ۲.۱ server. The analysis revealed thatamong the ۱۱۱۴ proteins, ۶۶۹ (۶۰.۰۵%) were classified as extracellular proteins, ۲۸۹ (۲۵.۹%) ascell membrane proteins, ۴۲ (۳.۷۷%) as cytoplasmic proteins, ۶۹ (۶.۱۹%) as endoplasmicreticulum proteins, and ۴۲ (۴.۰۳%) as other locations. For further investigation, both theextracellular and cell membrane proteins were submitted to the Vaxijen v۲ server (with athreshold of ۰.۹) to assess their antigenic properties. From a total of ۹۸۵ proteins analyzed, ۵۲exhibited antigenicity scores above ۰.۹.Conclusion: The analysis indicated that these proteins could be suitable candidates fordeveloping a vaccine against Fasciola hepatica or for use as a diagnostic tool for this parasite.However, it is essential to emphasize that laboratory and clinical validations are necessary toconfirm their efficacy for these applications.

کلیدواژه ها:

Fasciola hepatica ، immunoinformatics ، vaccine ، epitopes