In silico construction of polyvalent multi-epitope respiratory syncytial virus subunit vaccine: focusing on prevalent HLA allele types in Korea

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a leading cause of lower respiratory infections in infants and the elderly. The burden of RSV-related hospitalizations and deaths is significantly increasing. Recently, RSV vaccines targeting F protein have been approved, but their long-term efficacy is yet to be evaluated. This study aimed to design a polyvalent multi-epitope RSV subunit vaccine tailored to Korean HLA types using in silico methods. Nine prevalent HLA allele types in Korea were used to predict vaccine epitopes. Combinations of selected epitopes were created, and stable combinations were selected and conjugated with human β-defensin and PADRE. Fifty-five multi-epitope combinations were selected for vaccine construction, and 33 vaccine constructs induced strong immune responses in silico. The final vaccine candidate is a 228-amino acid construct weighing 23,957 Da and effectively induces humoral and cellular immune responses with high population coverage, suggesting potential for further development.