9.B.356.  The TMEM31 (TMEM31) Family 

Multiepitope cancer vaccines may be the future for melanoma treatment. Highly immunogenic regions of transmembrane protein 31 (TMEM31) were selected according to cytotoxic T lymphocytes' (CTL) epitopes and major histocompatibility complex (MHC) binding affinity through in silico analyses. The 32-62, 77-105, and 125-165 residues of the TMEM31 were selected as the immunodominant fragments. They were linked together by RVRR and HEYGAEALERAG motifs to improve epitope separation and presentation. To activate helper T lymphocytes (HTL), the Pan HLA DR-binding epitope (PADRE) peptide sequence and tetanus toxin fragment C (TTFrC) were incorporated into the final construct (Safavi et al. 2019). Also, the Beta-defensin conserved domain was utilized in the final construct as a novel adjuvant for Toll-like receptor 4/myeloid differentiation factor (TLR4-MD) activation. The CTL epitopes, cleavage sites, post-translational modifications, TAP transport efficiency, and B cells epitopes were predicted for the peptide vaccine. The final construct contained multiple CTL and B cell epitopes. In addition, it showed 93.55% and 99.13% population coverage in the world for HLA I and HLA II, respectively.

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