Avicenna J Med Biotech arij002 Avicenna Journal of Medical Biotechnology 2008-2835 2008-4625 Avicenna Research Institute ajmb60494 Designing a Multi-Epitope Antigen for Serodiagnosis of Strongyloides stercoralis Based on L3Nie.01 and IgG Immunoreactive Epitopes MovahedpourAhmadMostafavi-PourZohreh SarkariBahador Taheri-AnganehMortaza Nezafat Navid Savardashtaki Amir GhasemiYounesGenetic Research Centre, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran 14 2 114 124 4 10 2021 30 10 2021

<p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-size:9.5pt">Background:</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt"> Serological diagnosis of <em>Strongyloides stercoralis</em>&nbsp; (<em>S. stercoralis</em>) is fre-quently challenging because of cross-reactivity with other parasitic nematodes. There-fore, it is necessary to introduce novel serological tests with high performance to properly diagnose this neglected parasitic infection. The purpose of the current study was to design a multi-epitope construct for the diagnosis of <em>S. stercoralis</em>. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-size:9.5pt">Methods:</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt"> For the purpose of this study, first, highly antigenic segments and potential immunodominant epitopes of <em>S. stercoralis</em> were identified from two antigenic proteins, and then all of the selected parts were linked by an appropriate linker. Next, the physico-chemical features of the designed construct were analyzed. Then, tertiary structures of the construct were built and evaluated to find out the best one. Lastly, the amino acid sequence was reverse-translated and optimized for over-expression in <em>Escherchia coli</em> (<em>E. coli)</em>. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-size:9.5pt">Results:</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt"> The bioinformatic evaluation indicated that the designed protein construct could be hydrophilic, thermostable, and acidic and the estimated half-life was more than 10 <em>hr</em> in <em>E. coli</em>.</span></span></p> <p>Conclusion:<strong> </strong><span style="font-size:10.0pt">According to the results of the study, the designed construct could be used as an efficient antigen in the ELISA system for serological diagnosis of human strong-yloidiasis.</span></p>