Advances of Reverse Vaccinology for mRNA Vaccine Design against SARS-CoV-2: A Review of Methods and Tools

Viruses. 2023 Oct 21;15(10):2130. doi: 10.3390/v15102130.

Abstract

mRNA vaccines are a new class of vaccine that can induce potent and specific immune responses against various pathogens. However, the design of mRNA vaccines requires the identification and optimization of suitable antigens, which can be challenging and time consuming. Reverse vaccinology is a computational approach that can accelerate the discovery and development of mRNA vaccines by using genomic and proteomic data of the target pathogen. In this article, we review the advances of reverse vaccinology for mRNA vaccine design against SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19. We describe the steps of reverse vaccinology and compare the in silico tools used by different studies to design mRNA vaccines against SARS-CoV-2. We also discuss the challenges and limitations of reverse vaccinology and suggest future directions for its improvement. We conclude that reverse vaccinology is a promising and powerful approach to designing mRNA vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 and other emerging pathogens.

Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; mRNA vaccine; reverse vaccinology.

Publication types

  • Review
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • COVID-19 Vaccines
  • COVID-19* / prevention & control
  • Humans
  • Proteomics
  • SARS-CoV-2* / genetics
  • Vaccines, Synthetic
  • Vaccinology / methods
  • mRNA Vaccines

Substances

  • COVID-19 Vaccines
  • mRNA Vaccines
  • Vaccines, Synthetic

Grants and funding

This work was funded in part by the Brazilian agencies Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES/Brazil), the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq/Brazil), and the NPAD/UFRN/Brazil. We thank these organizations for the partial computational resources provided.