Inferring Protective CD8+ T-Cell Epitopes for NS5 Protein of Four Serotypes of Dengue Virus Chinese Isolates Based on HLA-A, -B and -C Allelic Distribution: Implications for Epitope-Based Universal Vaccine Design

Dengue is one of the most globally serious vector-borne infectious diseases in tropical and subtropical areas for which there are currently no effective vaccines. The most highly conserved flavivirus protein, NS5, is an indispensable target of CD8+ T-cells, making it an ideal vaccine design target. Using the Immune Epitope Database (IEDB), CD8+ T-cell epitopes of the dengue virus (DENV) NS5 protein were predicted by genotypic frequency of the HLA-A,-B, and-C alleles in Chinese population. Antigenicity scores of all predicted epitopes were analyzed using VaxiJen v2.0. The IEDB analysis revealed that 116 antigenic epitopes for HLA-A (21),-B (53), and-C (42) had high affinity for HLA molecules. Of them, 14 had 90.97-99.35% conversancy among the four serotypes. Moreover, five candidate epitopes, including 200NS5210 (94.84%, A*11:01), 515NS5525 (98.71%, A*24:02), 225NS5232 (99.35%, A*33:03), 516NS5523 (98.71%, A*33:03), and 284NS5291 (98.06%, A*33:03), were presented by HLA-A. Four candidate epitopes, including 234NS5241 (96.77%, B*13:01), 92NS599 (98.06%, B*15:01, B*15:02, and B*46:01), 262NS5269 (92.90%, B*38:02), and 538NS5547 (90.97%, B*51:01), were presented by HLA-B. Another 9 candidate epitopes, including 514NS5522 (98.71%, C*01:02), 514NS5524 (98.71%, C*01:02 and C*14:02), 92NS599 (98.06%, C*03:02 and C*15:02), 362NS5369 (44.84%, C*03:04 and C*08:01), 225NS5232 (99.35%, C*04:01), 234NS5241(96.77%, C*04:01), 361NS5369 (94.84%, C*04:01), 515NS5522 (98.71%, C*14:02), 515NS5524 (98.71%, C*14:02), were presented by HLA-C. Further data showed that the four-epitope combination of 92NS599 (B*15:01, B*15:02, B*46:01, C*03:02 and C*15:02), 200NS5210 (A*11:01), 362NS5369 (C*03:04, C*08:01), and 514NS5524 (C*01:02, C*14:02) could vaccinate >90% of individuals in China. Further in vivo study of our inferred novel epitopes will be needed for a T-cell epitope-based universal vaccine development that may prevent all four China-endemic DENV serotypes.