Conference Abstract | Volume 8, Abstract ELIC2025387 (Oral 032) | Published:  19 Aug 2025

Bioinformatics designing of an mRNA vaccine for Mokolavirus (MOKV) using immunoinformatics as a secure strategy for successful vaccine development

Elijah Kolawole Oladipo1,2,3,4,&, James Akinwumi Ogunniran2, Oluwaseyi Samuel Akinpelu2, Tosin Omoboyede Omole2, Stephen Feranmi Adeyemo1, Boluwatife Ayobami Irewolede1, Bamidele Abiodun Iwalokun5, Olumide Faith Ajani6, Helen Onyeaka4,&

1Division of Vaccine Design and Development, Helix Biogen Institute, Ogbomoso, Oyo State, Nigeria, 2Division of Genome Sciences, Helix Biogen Institute, Ogbomoso, Oyo State, Nigeria, 3Department of Microbiology, Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Immunology and Bioinformatics, Adeleke University, Ede, Osun State 232104, Nigeria, 4Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B12 2TT, UK, 5Molecular Biology & Biotechnology Department, Nigerian Institute of Medical Research, Lagos 101212, Nigeria, 6African Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (African CDC), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

&Corresponding author: Elijah Kolawole Oladipo, Division of Vaccine Design and Development, Helix Biogen Institute, Ogbomoso, Oyo State, Nigeria. Email: akinpeluoluwaseyi98@gmail.com

Received: 22 May 2025, Accepted: 09 Jul 2025, Published: 19 Aug 2025

Domain: Infectious Disease Epidemiology

This is part of the Proceedings of the ECOWAS 2nd Lassa fever International Conference in Abidjan, September 8 – 11, 2025

Keywords: Immunoinformatics, vaccination, Mokola, CD8+T lymphocytes, CD4+T lymphocytes

©Elijah Kolawole Oladipo et al. Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health (ISSN: 2664-2824). This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Cite this article: Elijah Kolawole Oladipo et al., Bioinformatics designing of an mRNA vaccine for Mokolavirus (MOKV) using immunoinformatics as a secure strategy for successful vaccine development. Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health. 2025;8(ConfProc5):00032. https://doi.org/10.37432/jieph-confpro5-00032

Introduction

The Mokola Virus belongs to the family Rhabdoviridae and is genotype 3 of the Lyssavirus genera. A small number of cases of animal and human encephalomyelitis, mainly scattered over sub-Saharan Africa, have been linked to the Mokola Virus (MOKV). Currently there is no vaccine to protect against MOKV infection in people or animals. It has been proven that rabies vaccination does not confer immunity against MOKV infection, even though MOKV and the rabies virus are related. 

Methods

Using immunoinformatics approaches, this study designed an mRNA vaccine that can protect against all the five glycoproteins of the Mokola virus. NCBI was used to obtain the viral sequences, which were then screened for antigenicity, allergenicity, toxicity, B-cell epitopes, CD8+T lymphocytes (CTL), and CD4+T lymphocytes (HTL). These epitopes were used in the construction of the vaccine. Some extra co-translational residues were added to the mRNA vaccine construct.

Results

Its molecular weight is 129.19083 kDa, and its estimated pI is 8.58. It interacts rather steadily and with limited deformability with TLR 3, among other human innate immune receptors. 

Conclusion

Overall, the results show that the produced candidate vaccine is non-allergen, non-toxic, and can elicit T–cell and B–cell immune responses. These findings can further be subjected to in-vivo and in-vitro techniques for validation. 

 
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