Abstract: We identified regions of the HIV-1 proteome with high conservation, and low variant incidence. Such highly conserved sequences have direct relevance to the development of new-generation vaccines and diagnostic applications. The immune relevance of these sequences was assessed by their correlation to previously reported human T-cell epitopes and to recently identified human HIV-1 T-cell epitopes (identified using HLA transgenic mice). We identified (a) sequences specific to HIV-1 with no shared identity to other viruses and organisms, and (b) sequences that are specific to primate lentivirus group, with multiclade HIV-1 conservation.

Abstract: Flaviviruses represent an increasing global public health issue, with no prophylactic and therapeutic formulations currently available for many of them. The combination of factors such as evolutionary change, global warming and wide range of animal hosts suggest the possible occurrence of Flavivirus strains with greater distribution and human pathogenicity. There is, thus, a need for greater understanding of viral protein sequences that function in the human immune responses. The evolutionary diversity of the reported sequences of major flaviviruses, such as dengue virus, yellow fever virus, Japanese encephalitis virus, and West Nile virus were analyzed with a combination of experimental and bioinformatics methodologies. The analysis of all reported sequences revealed that these species-specific peptide tags are highly conserved and are potential T-cell epitopes due to correspondence to known or predicted epitopes.