Experimental validation of a computationally designed mosquito midgut SGU protein-based epitope vaccine against malaria.

Abstract

Malaria, a vector-borne disease caused by Plasmodium and transmitted by Anopheles mosquitoes, remains a major health burden in tropical regions. During blood feeding, the mosquito midgut plays a key role in blood digestion and parasite development, where immune responses against the parasite occur. This study employed a stepwise immunoinformatics approach to design a conserved multiepitope vaccine based on the midgut-specific SGU protein of Anopheles. B and T-cell epitopes were selected based on antigenicity and non-allergenicity, linked using AAY and GPGPG linkers, and combined with β-defensin as an adjuvant to enhance immunogenicity. Physicochemical analysis indicated vaccine stability, and codon optimization supported efficient expression in E. coli BL21. Docking confirmed strong interaction with TLR3, and the expressed recombinant protein (∼16 kDa) successfully elicited an immune response. Further studies are needed to assess its potential to block SGU function and inhibit Plasmodium development in the mosquito midgut.