A MEP was constructed first comprising epitopes finalized in the previous phase. MEP based vaccines are considered an ideal approach to prevent and treat viral infections [24]. The epitopes shown in Table 1 were linked to each other through flexible AAY linkers as such it allows efficient separation required for the effective working of each epitope. Once the MEP was designed, to its N-terminus an adjuvant of Cholera toxin subunit B (CTB) was added [76]. The schematic representation of the MEPVC is shown in Figure 3 . CTB is nontoxic part of cholera toxin and is considered an accelerator in protective immunity and a break in auto-immunity. It shows high affinity for monosialotetrahexosylganglioside displayed on variety of cell types, including gut epithelial cells, antigen-presenting cells (dendritic and macrophages) and B-cells [77]. CTB is a preferred choice as an adjuvant because of its ability of self-expression in variety of organisms and can be coupled to antigens through several approaches involving chemical manipulation and genetic fusion resulting in strong immunological responses against the antigens to which it is attached. The vaccine construct was then used in a comparative 3D structure prediction to ensure confidentiality in selection of the most suitable model for the construct with minimum structural errors.
Fig. 3 Schematic representation of the designed MEPVC.