Immunoinformatics-Driven Design of a Multiepitope Vaccine for Rustrela Virus-Induced Neurological Diseases: A New Frontier in Encephalitis and Meningoencephalitis Prevention

Rustrela virus (Rubivirus strelense) is a single-stranded, non-segmented RNA virus that causes brain diseases in animals, especially encephalitis and meningoencephalitis. Its rapidly mutating RNA genome complicates control, making a vaccine imperative. Immunoinformatics approaches were employed to make the polyepitope vaccine (PEV) for RuV control. Epitopes for cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL), helper T lymphocytes (HTL), and B cells were made from most immunogenic parts i.e., E1, E2, and capsid structural proteins of RuV. Epitopes that were antigenic, not allergic, IFN simulators, and not toxic were selected. This led to the selection of 6 CTL, 6 HTL, and 13 B cell epitopes, which were then used to construct the PEV with appropriate linkers and CTB as an adjuvant for immunological modulation. The physiochemical analyses demonstrated that the PEV was safe, stable, hydrophilic, and soluble. The secondary structure prediction has indicated mostly coiled and alpha helix in the PEV. The 3D scans revealed a solid and stable structure. The interactions and stability between the vaccine, TLR3, TLR4, and TLR7 were revealed by molecular docking. The vaccine candidate’s minimal deformability and high stability were verified by molecular dynamics modeling. The developed PEV vaccine demonstrated a strong immunological response in in silico immune simulation. RuV-PEV is predicted to be efficiently produced in E. coli following in silico codon optimization and vector cloning. It elicited strong antigen-specific humoral and cellular responses, indicating promise as a Rustrela virus vaccine. Its precise effectiveness, safety, and immunogenicity profile may be confirmed by further experimental validations.