Publications

Yellow Fever disease is caused by the Yellow Fever virus (YFV), an arbovirus from the Flaviviridae family. The re-emergence of Yellow Fever (YF) was facilitated by the increasing urbanization of sylvatic areas, the wide distribution of the mosquito vector, and the low percentage of people immunized in the Americas, which caused severe outbreaks in recent years, with a high mortality rate. Therefore, serological approaches capable of discerning antibodies generated from the wild-type (YFV-WT) strain between the vaccinal strain (YFV-17DD) could facilitate vaccine coverage surveillance, enabling the development of strategies to avoid new outbreaks. In this study, peptides were designed and subjected to microarray procedures with sera collected from individuals infected by WT-YFV and 17DD–YFV of YFV during the Brazilian outbreak of YFV in 2017/2018. From 222 screened peptides, around ten could potentially integrate serological approaches aiming to differentiate vaccinated individuals from naturally infected individuals. Among those peptides, one was synthesized and validated through ELISA.

INTRODUCTION: The challenges posed by emergent strains of SARS-CoV-2 need to be tackled by contemporary scientific approaches, with proteomics playing a significant role. AREAS COVERED: In this review, we provide a brief synthesis of the impact of proteomics technologies in elucidating disease pathogenesis and classifiers for the prognosis of COVID-19 and propose proteomics methodologies that could play a crucial role in understanding emerging variants and their altered disease pathology. From aiding the design of novel drug candidates to facilitating the identification of T cell vaccine targets, we have discussed the impact of proteomics methods in COVID-19 research. Techniques varied as mass spectrometry, single-cell proteomics, multiplexed ELISA arrays, high-density proteome arrays, surface plasmon resonance, immunopeptidomics, and in silico docking studies that have helped augment the fight against existing diseases were useful in preparing us to tackle SARS-CoV-2 variants. We also propose an action plan for a pipeline to combat emerging pandemics using proteomics technology by adopting uniform standard operating procedures and unified data analysis paradigms. EXPERT OPINION: The knowledge about the use of diverse proteomics approaches for COVID-19 investigation will provide a framework for future basic research, better infectious disease prevention strategies, improved diagnostics, and targeted therapeutics.