EPIPOX

EPIPOX provides a curated collection of T cell epitopes shared among eight human pathogenic orthopoxviruses, including variola (minor and major), monkeypox, cowpox, and vaccinia, to support epitope-based vaccine design by enabling selection based on predicted MHC binding and immunogenicity-related attributes.

Key Features:

• Shared-epitope curation: Curated T cell epitopes conserved across eight orthopoxviruses, explicitly including variola (minor and major), monkeypox, cowpox, and vaccinia.
• MHC binding prediction filtering: Predicted binding affinities to various major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules are provided and used as selection criteria.
• Immunogenicity-related attributes: Immunogenicity-related parameters are annotated to support prioritization of epitopes.
• Structural annotations: Annotations specify the structural location of each epitope within the virion.
• Temporal expression annotations: Annotations report temporal expression patterns of the corresponding antigens.
• Optimized vaccine-design annotations: Annotations are tailored to guide selection of epitopes with enhanced immunogenic properties for vaccine development.
• Feature-based retrieval: Retrieval of orthopoxvirus-specific T cell epitopes can be performed using feature settings aimed at maximizing predicted immunogenic potential.

Scientific Applications:

• Epitope-based vaccine design: Support rational selection of T cell epitopes for development of epitope-based vaccines against orthopoxviruses.
• Cross-orthopoxvirus comparison: Enable identification and comparison of conserved epitopes across multiple orthopoxvirus species and strains.
• Vaccine target prioritization: Prioritize antigenic targets by integrating predicted MHC binding, immunogenicity attributes, structural localization, and temporal expression.
• Immunological research: Inform studies of T cell immunity to variola (minor and major), monkeypox, cowpox, and vaccinia viruses.

Methodology:

Curated collection of shared T cell epitopes across eight orthopoxviruses; annotation of structural location and temporal antigen expression; prediction of MHC binding affinities; and feature-based filtering and retrieval of epitopes based on predicted binding and immunogenicity-related attributes.