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Multi-epitope vaccines are constructed by multiple fragments of viral proteins rich in overlapping epitopes.
Researchers at the University of Southern California have created an artificial intelligence (AI) tool capable of countering emerging mutations in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), while accelerating vaccine development, potentially contributing to bring the ongoing pandemic to an end. Data from the study were published in the journal Scientific reports.
The study team gathered data from the Immune Epitope Database (IEDB), the virus pathogen resource and the National Biotechnology Information Center. They then developed an artificial intelligence tool capable of speeding up vaccine analysis and finding the best preventive medical therapy. The tool easily lends itself to analysis for viral mutations, completing vaccine design cycles in minutes instead of the typical months or years.
Using the new tool, they were able to remove 95% of compounds that could treat COVID-19, focusing on 26 of the best possible therapies. Out of these 26, researchers have identified 11 to create a vaccine capable of attacking viral spike proteins to disrupt them and neutralize the replication process.
“This AI framework, applied to the specifics of this virus, can deliver vaccine candidates in seconds and quickly move them to clinical trials to perform preventive medical therapies without compromising safety,” Paul Bogdan, associate professor of engineering electrical and computer science at USC Viterbi and corresponding study author said. “Additionally, it can be adapted to help us stay ahead of the coronavirus as it mutates around the world.”
Researchers believe they can create new multi-epitope vaccines for new variants in less than a minute, while validating their quality in less than an hour. This process is usually long, lasting up to a year, time that cannot be wasted when an epidemic spreads around the world.
“The proposed vaccine design framework can tackle the three most frequently observed mutations and be extended to address other potentially unknown mutations,” Bogdan said.
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