Computational Epitope Mapping

Faculty: Vicente Reyes

Summary:

An epitope is a specific site on the surface of a protein molecule that is foreign to the host organism and recognized by molecules of the immune system of that organism by binding to it. For example, when a person is infected by a species of bacterium, proteins from that bacterium are foreign to the person and molecules from his/her immune system such as antibodies in the blood will then then recognize it by binding to it, thereby initiating an entire cascade of biochemical reactions that finally neutralize the bacteria bearing the protein. Although epitopes may be experimentally determined using a variety of binding assay methods, computational prediction of epitopes is currently in its infancy. Development of computational tools to map epitopes should prove useful as not only would it have impact on vaccine design but also on our basic understanding of immune recognition.