Recombinant multiepitope proteins expressed in Escherichia coli cells and their potential for immunodiagnosis

• Published in: Microbial cell factories Vol. 23; no. 1; p. 145
• Main Authors: Gonçalves, Ana Alice Maia, Ribeiro, Anna Julia, Resende, Carlos Ananias Aparecido, Couto, Carolina Alves Petit, Gandra, Isadora Braga, Dos Santos Barcelos, Isabelle Caroline, da Silva, Jonatas Oliveira, Machado, Juliana Martins, Silva, Kamila Alves, Silva, Líria Souza, Dos Santos, Michelli, da Silva Lopes, Lucas, de Faria, Mariana Teixeira, Pereira, Sabrina Paula, Xavier, Sandra Rodrigues, Aragão, Matheus Motta, Candida-Puma, Mayron Antonio, de Oliveira, Izadora Cristina Moreira, Souza, Amanda Araujo, Nogueira, Lais Moreira, da Paz, Mariana Campos, Coelho, Eduardo Antônio Ferraz, Giunchetti, Rodolfo Cordeiro, de Freitas, Sonia Maria, Chávez-Fumagalli, Miguel Angel, Nagem, Ronaldo Alves Pinto, Galdino, Alexsandro Sobreira
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 22-05-2024; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Analysis; Animals; Antigenic determinants; Bioinformatics; Biophysical analysis; Care and treatment; Communicable diseases; Computational biology; Control; COVID-19 - diagnosis; Diagnosis; Epitopes - genetics; Epitopes - immunology; Escherichia coli; Escherichia coli - genetics; Escherichia coli - metabolism; Humans; Identification and classification; Immunodiagnosis; Immunologic Tests - methods; Recombinant multiepitope proteins; Recombinant proteins; Recombinant Proteins - biosynthesis; Recombinant Proteins - genetics; Recombinant Proteins - immunology; Review; Risk factors; Brazil; Immunodiagnosis; Biophysical analysis; Bioinformatics; Escherichia coli; Recombinant multiepitope proteins
• ISSN: 1475-2859; 1475-2859
• DOI: 10.1186/s12934-024-02418-w

Recombinant multiepitope proteins (RMPs) are a promising alternative for application in diagnostic tests and, given their wide application in the most diverse diseases, this review article aims to survey the use of these antigens for diagnosis, as well as discuss the main points surrounding these antigens. RMPs usually consisting of linear, immunodominant, and phylogenetically conserved epitopes, has been applied in the experimental diagnosis of various human and animal diseases, such as leishmaniasis, brucellosis, cysticercosis, Chagas disease, hepatitis, leptospirosis, leprosy, filariasis, schistosomiasis, dengue, and COVID-19. The synthetic genes for these epitopes are joined to code a single RMP, either with spacers or fused, with different biochemical properties. The epitopes' high density within the RMPs contributes to a high degree of sensitivity and specificity. The RMPs can also sidestep the need for multiple peptide synthesis or multiple recombinant proteins, reducing costs and enhancing the standardization conditions for immunoassays. Methods such as bioinformatics and circular dichroism have been widely applied in the development of new RMPs, helping to guide their construction and better understand their structure. Several RMPs have been expressed, mainly using the Escherichia coli expression system, highlighting the importance of these cells in the biotechnological field. In fact, technological advances in this area, offering a wide range of different strains to be used, make these cells the most widely used expression platform. RMPs have been experimentally used to diagnose a broad range of illnesses in the laboratory, suggesting they could also be useful for accurate diagnoses commercially. On this point, the RMP method offers a tempting substitute for the production of promising antigens used to assemble commercial diagnostic kits.