Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42323496›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2026

mRNA vaccine design targeting Merkel cell polyomavirus for immunotherapy of Merkel cell carcinoma.

Akmal Zubair, Faisal Ahmad, Muhammad Yaqoob Shahani, Naila Afghan

Abstract read
In one paragraph

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

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Akmal ZubairDepartment of Biotechnology, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan. akmalkhattk1994@gmail.com.
Faisal AhmadDepartment of Biotechnology, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan.
Muhammad Yaqoob ShahaniDepartment of Anesthesia Technology and Operations, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Khalid University, Muhayil Aseer, Saudi Arabia.
Naila AfghanDepartment of Biology, Kabul University, Kabul, Afghanistan. nailaafghan650@gmail.com.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The pathogenesis of Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV) is characterized by ubiquitous and most likely silent childhood infection that may cause Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC). This mRNA vaccine includes the capsid proteins VP1 and VP2, as well as the Large T antigen and small T antigen, which are highly immunogenic. This has led to the development of mRNA vaccines against these T and Capsid peptides. Different computational methods was used to identify the epitopes of helper CD4 + lymphocytes and CD8 + lymphocytes. All of selected epitopes was analyzed for their toxicity, allergenicity, and immunogenicity. The MD simulation was carried out in an orthorhombic TIP3P water box with a buffer region of 10 Å, and Na+/Cl- counter ions at a physiological amount of salt (150 mM) were added to neutralize the system. Once the NVT and NPT aggregates were equilibrated, a 100 ns manufacturing run at 310 K and 1 atm was performed. Our vaccine has 19 epitopes in the vaccine construct, including HTLs and CTLs. The vaccine was found to have an increased hydrophilicity, and the average hydropathicity score was - 8.95. The Ramachandran plot revealed potential stability, 94.6% of the amino acid units were found in the allowed region. The vaccine showed potentially high affinity with the TLR3 receptor as the docking score was - 318.56 KJ/mol, and the confidence score was 0.9668. After codon optimization, there was a knowing improvement in the expression in E. coli vectors that produced vaccines, as indicated by the increase in GC content to 53.41. MM-GBSA analysis showed that there was a uniform binding affinity of TLR3 between - 1500 and - 2000 kcal/mol. Our vaccine construct against MCPyV showed potential immune responses and should be advanced to in vitro and in vivo clinical experiments.

Indexed as

Cancer VaccinesCarcinoma, Merkel CellMerkel cell polyomavirusmRNA VaccinesPolyomavirus InfectionsViral VaccinesCapsid ProteinsEpitopes, T-LymphocyteHumansImmunotherapyMolecular Dynamics SimulationCancer VaccinesCapsid ProteinsEpitopes, T-LymphocytemRNA VaccinesViral VaccinesBioinformaticsCancerMerkel cell polyomavirusmRNAVaccine

Identifiers

PMID42323496
PMCPMC13558710

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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 OpenQuestion graph.