Evidence mapPaperPMID 42237149Full record

ArticleBMC biotechnology2026

Immunoinformatics-guided design of a multi-epitope vaccine targeting WISP1 for gastric cancer.

Negar Mottaghi-Dastjerdi, Behzad Shahbazi, Khadijeh Ahmadi, Mohammad Soltany-Rezaee-Rad

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Article in BMC biotechnology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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5 · Who and what money

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4 authors.

Negar Mottaghi-Dastjerdi *Department of Pharmacognosy and Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Pharmacy, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. mottaghi.n@iums.ac.ir.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8386-774X
Behzad Shahbazi *School of Pharmacy, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0903-2960
Khadijeh AhmadiDepartment of Medical Biotechnology, School of Allied Medical Sciences, Bushehr University of Medical Sciences, Bushehr, Iran.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4669-0708
Mohammad Soltany-Rezaee-RadBehestan Innovation Factory, Behestan Darou, Tehran, Iran.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0663-1140

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundGastric cancer remains a leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide, and effective preventive or therapeutic vaccines are still lacking. WNT1‑inducible signalling pathway protein 1 (WISP1/CCN4) is a secreted matricellular protein that is overexpressed in gastric tumours and associated with poor prognosis, making it a promising immunotherapy target. We aimed to design a multi‑epitope protein vaccine candidate targeting WISP1 using an immunoinformatics workflow.

resultsWe predicted linear B‑cell epitopes from WISP1 and filtered them for antigenicity, non-allergenicity, and non-toxicity. High‑scoring MHC class I and class II T‑cell epitopes with broad HLA coverage were then selected. The final construct combined validated B‑ and T‑cell epitopes with appropriate linkers and a TLR‑agonist adjuvant to enhance immunogenicity. Physicochemical profiling indicated that the construct is stable, soluble, hydrophilic and antigenic, with no predicted allergenicity or toxicity. Secondary and tertiary structures were modelled, refined and validated, revealing proper folding and favourable stereochemical quality. Molecular docking showed strong binding to innate immune receptors, particularly TLR4, and molecular dynamics simulations confirmed stable receptor-vaccine interactions with low structural deviation. Binding‑free energy analysis further supported these results. Immune simulations predicted robust primary and secondary immune responses characterised by sustained IgG/IgM production, increased IFN‑γ and IL‑2, and activation of memory B and T cells. Codon optimisation and in‑silico cloning suggested feasibility for experimental expression.

conclusionsThese results indicate that the proposed WISP1 multi‑epitope vaccine is antigenic, safe, structurally stable and capable of eliciting broad humoral and cellular immune responses in silico. This work provides a testable candidate for experimental validation and highlights secreted CCN family proteins as novel targets for gastric cancer vaccines.

Indexed as

Cancer VaccinesCCN Intercellular Signaling ProteinsEpitopes, B-LymphocyteEpitopes, T-LymphocyteProto-Oncogene ProteinsStomach NeoplasmsHumansImmunoinformaticsMolecular Docking SimulationMolecular Dynamics SimulationProtein Subunit VaccinesCancer VaccinesCCN4 protein, humanCCN Intercellular Signaling ProteinsEpitopes, B-LymphocyteEpitopes, T-LymphocyteProtein Subunit VaccinesProto-Oncogene ProteinsGastric cancerImmunoinformaticsMolecular dockingMulti-epitope vaccinePeptide vaccineWISP1

Identifiers

PMID42237149
PMCPMC13471679

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.