Carlos R. Prudencio
Adolfo Lutz Institute, Brazil
Title: Antigenic profile of humoral immune response against pathogens of interest in public health by nextgeneration sequencing of phage-displayed peptide libraries
Biography
Biography: Carlos R. Prudencio
Abstract
Given the growing number of diseases caused by emerging or endemic pathogens in Brazil, like Ricketsias and Zika virus, new strategies are urgently required for the development of disease diagnostic markers and vaccines. In this context, identification and development of these markers require high-throughput screening of combinatorial libraries. Phage-display is a powerful technique for selecting unique molecules with selective affinity for a specific target from high-complexity combinatorial phage display peptide libraries. The technology was applied initially to allow identification of high-affinity peptides after in vivo and in vitro screening. By high-throughput sequencing of the pool of recombinant phage clones following in silico analyses amongst hypothetical proteins of these pathogens, all categorized sequences provided the profile of the best candidates. Thus, we heightened the powerful screening capacity of this technique adding complementary approaches based on deep sequencing to identification and characterization of antigen candidates. By combining such approaches, we maximized the selection of molecules potentially relevant for diagnostics and vaccine development for pathogens of interest to public health.