| Abstrakt: |
Introduction: Brucellosis is one of the most common zoonotic diseases worldwide, posing a significant threat to both human health and the livestock industry, causing substantial economic losses. Today, multi-epitope antigens are widely used in serological diagnostic methods, especially ELISA, due to their high sensitivity and specificity in diagnostic efficiency and lower production costs compared to single antigens. Therefore, this study aimed to design a bioinformatic multi-epitope antigen for the diagnosis of human brucellosis. Methods: To design the multi-epitope antigen, Omp16, Omp25, and BP26 antigens were utilized. After identifying epitopes with high antigenic properties from each antigen, the epitopes were linked using an appropriate linker (EAAAK). The physicochemical properties and antigenicity of the designed antigen were then assessed. Subsequently, the three-dimensional (3D) structure was predicted and validated. The amino acid sequence of the multiepitope antigen was converted to a nucleotide sequence, optimized, and inserted into the pET23a (+) vector. Results: Bioinformatic analyses indicated that the designed multi-epitope antigen is stable, soluble, and possesses significant antigenicity. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the designed multi-epitope antigen could be a promising candidate for the diagnosis of brucellosis. However, further validation through laboratory methods is necessary to confirm its diagnostic efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
