Khalid Kanwal, Ahmad Fiaz, Anwar Ayaz, Ong Seng-Kai
Centre for Virus and Vaccine Research, School of Medical and Life Sciences, Sunway University, Bandar Sunway, 47500, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.
Department of Economics and Finance, Sunway Business School, Sunway University, Bandar Sunway, 47500, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.
Mol Biotechnol. 2025 Jan 9. doi: 10.1007/s12033-024-01358-5.
The etiological agent for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the SARS-CoV-2, caused a global pandemic. Although mRNA, viral-vectored, DNA, and recombinant protein vaccine candidates were effective against the SARS-CoV-2 Wuhan strain, the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs) reduced the protective efficacies of these vaccines. This necessitates the need for effective and accelerated vaccine development against mutated VOCs. The development of multi-epitope vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 based on in silico identification of highly conserved and immunogenic epitopes is a promising strategy for future SARS-CoV-2 vaccine development. Considering the evolving landscape of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have conducted a bibliometric analysis to consolidate current findings and research trends in multi-epitope vaccine development to provide insights for future vaccine development strategies. Analysis of 102 publications on multi-epitope vaccine development against SARS-CoV-2 revealed significant growth and global collaboration, with India leading in the number of publications, along with an identification of the most prolific authors. Key journals included the Journal of Biomolecular Structure and Dynamics, while top collaborations involved Pakistan-China and India-USA. Keyword analysis showed a prominent focus on immunoinformatics, epitope prediction, and spike glycoprotein. Advances in immunoinformatics, including AI-driven epitope prediction, offer promising avenues for the development of safe and effective multi-epitope vaccines. Immunogenicity may be further improved through nanoparticle-based systems or the use of adjuvants along with real-time genomic surveillance to tailor vaccines against emerging variants.
2019冠状病毒病（COVID-19）的病原体严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2（SARS-CoV-2）引发了全球大流行。尽管信使核糖核酸（mRNA）、病毒载体、DNA和重组蛋白候选疫苗对SARS-CoV-2武汉毒株有效，但值得关注的SARS-CoV-2变异株（VOC）的出现降低了这些疫苗的保护效力。这就需要开发针对变异VOC的有效且加速的疫苗。基于计算机模拟识别高度保守且具有免疫原性的表位来开发针对SARS-CoV-2的多表位疫苗，是未来SARS-CoV-2疫苗开发的一个有前景的策略。考虑到COVID-19大流行的不断变化态势，我们进行了文献计量分析，以整合多表位疫苗开发的当前研究结果和趋势，为未来疫苗开发策略提供见解。对102篇关于针对SARS-CoV-2的多表位疫苗开发的出版物的分析显示出显著的增长和全球合作，印度在出版物数量上领先，同时还确定了最多产的作者。主要期刊包括《生物分子结构与动力学杂志》，而顶级合作涉及巴基斯坦-中国和印度-美国。关键词分析表明，主要集中在免疫信息学、表位预测和刺突糖蛋白上。免疫信息学的进展，包括人工智能驱动的表位预测，为开发安全有效的多表位疫苗提供了有前景的途径。通过基于纳米颗粒的系统或使用佐剂，以及进行实时基因组监测以针对新出现的变异株定制疫苗，免疫原性可能会进一步提高。
