Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic autoimmune disease that predominantly affects synovial joints, especially those of the hands, elbows, wrists, knees, and shoulders. RA frequently co-occurs with major depressive disorder (MDD), amplifying disease burden and complicating clinical outcomes. This study employed a multi-step integrative bioinformatics and structural biology framework to identify candidate molecular biomarkers for RA and MDD. Differential gene expression analysis and weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) were performed on the epitranscriptomic dataset. These analyses identified immune-regulatory gene modules that were significantly associated with both phenotypes. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression was applied to select strong, statistically significant biomarkers. The methylated biomarker EEF1A1 was identified, and its structure predicted via AlphaFold, was subjected to in silico structure-based virtual screening (SBVS) against the Comprehensive Marine Natural Product Database (CMNPD). Four marine natural products (CMNPD17984, CMNPD27318, CMNPD26200, and CMNPD26011) showed significant binding affinity for EEF1A1. Furthermore, EEF1A1-MNP complexes were simulated for 150 ns using GROMACS, and PCA-based free energy landscape (FEL) analyses were performed to characterize the dynamic behavior and identify energy minima. This integrated computational approach provides a comprehensive platform for biomarker discovery and validation in RA and MDD, with potential applications in early diagnosis, therapeutic targeting, and precision medicine.
{"title":"Machine learning guided structural dynamics identifies translation elongation factor 1 (EEF1A1) as an immunological biomarker and marine natural products as therapeutic leads for rheumatoid arthritis with major depressive disorder","authors":"Santhiya Panchalingam , Govindaraju Kasivelu , Manikandan Jayaraman , Jeyakanthan Jeyaraman","doi":"10.1016/j.compbiomed.2026.111480","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.compbiomed.2026.111480","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic autoimmune disease that predominantly affects synovial joints, especially those of the hands, elbows, wrists, knees, and shoulders. RA frequently co-occurs with major depressive disorder (MDD), amplifying disease burden and complicating clinical outcomes. This study employed a multi-step integrative bioinformatics and structural biology framework to identify candidate molecular biomarkers for RA and MDD. Differential gene expression analysis and weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) were performed on the epitranscriptomic dataset. These analyses identified immune-regulatory gene modules that were significantly associated with both phenotypes. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression was applied to select strong, statistically significant biomarkers. The methylated biomarker EEF1A1 was identified, and its structure predicted via AlphaFold, was subjected to <em>in silico</em> structure-based virtual screening (SBVS) against the Comprehensive Marine Natural Product Database (CMNPD). Four marine natural products (CMNPD17984, CMNPD27318, CMNPD26200, and CMNPD26011) showed significant binding affinity for EEF1A1. Furthermore, EEF1A1-MNP complexes were simulated for 150 ns using GROMACS, and PCA-based free energy landscape (FEL) analyses were performed to characterize the dynamic behavior and identify energy minima. This integrated computational approach provides a comprehensive platform for biomarker discovery and validation in RA and MDD, with potential applications in early diagnosis, therapeutic targeting, and precision medicine.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":10578,"journal":{"name":"Computers in biology and medicine","volume":"203 ","pages":"Article 111480"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2026-01-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145976109","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-16DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2026.111485
Malek Y. Almallah , Belal H. Sababha
The growing trend of solitary living among the elderly and young, coupled with the high risk of falls leading to injuries and death, highlights the need for fall monitoring systems. Emphasizing individuals' privacy and comfort, these systems should rely on radar sensors instead of visual-based, acoustic-based, or wearable solutions. Current radar-based systems have yet to reach satisfactory real-world performance. This work proposes a radar-based fall detection system that offers superior performance in complex real-world scenarios while maintaining edge computing capabilities and utilizing minimal hardware resources. The proposed deep learning system achieved a recall of 98.99 % and a precision of 99.32 %. These unprecedented performance numbers are measured on the proposed dataset, which is the most real-life representative dataset in the literature. The system has 211.8k parameters and ∼8.84 M Floating Point Operations (FLOPs), achieving an edge computing capability. Moreover, the efficient model construction eliminates redundant computation in real-time operation. Furthermore, this work proposes a novel performance comparison methodology that can be used in all classification problems. This methodology compares performance metrics, which are calculated based on different datasets, with a high level of fairness.
{"title":"IntNet: Lightweight yet high-performance deep learning system for intuitive radar patterns analysis and human fall detection","authors":"Malek Y. Almallah , Belal H. Sababha","doi":"10.1016/j.compbiomed.2026.111485","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.compbiomed.2026.111485","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The growing trend of solitary living among the elderly and young, coupled with the high risk of falls leading to injuries and death, highlights the need for fall monitoring systems. Emphasizing individuals' privacy and comfort, these systems should rely on radar sensors instead of visual-based, acoustic-based, or wearable solutions. Current radar-based systems have yet to reach satisfactory real-world performance. This work proposes a radar-based fall detection system that offers superior performance in complex real-world scenarios while maintaining edge computing capabilities and utilizing minimal hardware resources. The proposed deep learning system achieved a recall of 98.99 % and a precision of 99.32 %. These unprecedented performance numbers are measured on the proposed dataset, which is the most real-life representative dataset in the literature. The system has 211.8k parameters and ∼8.84 M Floating Point Operations (FLOPs), achieving an edge computing capability. Moreover, the efficient model construction eliminates redundant computation in real-time operation. Furthermore, this work proposes a novel performance comparison methodology that can be used in all classification problems. This methodology compares performance metrics, which are calculated based on different datasets, with a high level of fairness.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":10578,"journal":{"name":"Computers in biology and medicine","volume":"203 ","pages":"Article 111485"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2026-01-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145976106","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-16DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2026.111473
Alberto Porta , Beatrice Cairo , Vlasta Bari , Chiara Arduino , Ilaria Burzo , Beatrice De Maria , Paolo Castiglioni , Luc Quintin , Aparecida Maria Catai , Franca Barbic , Raffaello Furlan
Symbolic analysis (SA) infers cardiac control from spontaneous stationary sequences of heart period (HP) by estimating the probability of symbolic pattern classes. Unfortunately, SA does not assess the fraction of HP variability associated with symbolic pattern families. This study proposes amplitude SA (ASA) accounting for absolute changes between consecutive HPs. ASA leverages uniform 6-bin quantization to symbolize HP, the delay embedding procedure to form length-3 symbolic patterns and a traditional strategy to group symbolic patterns into four classes families according to number and sign of variations between adjacent symbols. ASA computes the fraction of variance associated with symbolic pattern classes. ASA was applied to HP variability derived from: 1) healthy subjects during pharmacological challenges (n = 9; age: 25–46 yrs, 9 males); 2) healthy subjects during graded postural stimuli (n = 19; age: 21–48 yrs, 8 males); 3) Parkinson disease (PD) patients (n = 12; age: 55–79 yrs, 8 males) and matched healthy controls (n = 12; age: 58–72 yrs, 7 males). We computed both global and local ASA markers and we compared them with SA indexes. Over stationary HP series we found that: i) ASA provides a general method to decompose HP variance according to symbolic pattern classes; ii) ASA is useful to describe cardiac control; iii) ASA indexes are complementary to SA markers; iv) ASA emphasizes the link of HP variability markers expressed in absolute units with vagal control; v) global and local ASA approaches provide similar information. SA and ASA should be utilized concomitantly for a deeper characterization of cardiac control from spontaneous HP fluctuations.
{"title":"Amplitude symbolic analysis: a tool for the evaluation of the autonomic function complementary to traditional symbolic approach","authors":"Alberto Porta , Beatrice Cairo , Vlasta Bari , Chiara Arduino , Ilaria Burzo , Beatrice De Maria , Paolo Castiglioni , Luc Quintin , Aparecida Maria Catai , Franca Barbic , Raffaello Furlan","doi":"10.1016/j.compbiomed.2026.111473","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.compbiomed.2026.111473","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Symbolic analysis (SA) infers cardiac control from spontaneous stationary sequences of heart period (HP) by estimating the probability of symbolic pattern classes. Unfortunately, SA does not assess the fraction of HP variability associated with symbolic pattern families. This study proposes amplitude SA (ASA) accounting for absolute changes between consecutive HPs. ASA leverages uniform 6-bin quantization to symbolize HP, the delay embedding procedure to form length-3 symbolic patterns and a traditional strategy to group symbolic patterns into four classes families according to number and sign of variations between adjacent symbols. ASA computes the fraction of variance associated with symbolic pattern classes. ASA was applied to HP variability derived from: 1) healthy subjects during pharmacological challenges (n = 9; age: 25–46 yrs, 9 males); 2) healthy subjects during graded postural stimuli (n = 19; age: 21–48 yrs, 8 males); 3) Parkinson disease (PD) patients (n = 12; age: 55–79 yrs, 8 males) and matched healthy controls (n = 12; age: 58–72 yrs, 7 males). We computed both global and local ASA markers and we compared them with SA indexes. Over stationary HP series we found that: i) ASA provides a general method to decompose HP variance according to symbolic pattern classes; ii) ASA is useful to describe cardiac control; iii) ASA indexes are complementary to SA markers; iv) ASA emphasizes the link of HP variability markers expressed in absolute units with vagal control; v) global and local ASA approaches provide similar information. SA and ASA should be utilized concomitantly for a deeper characterization of cardiac control from spontaneous HP fluctuations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":10578,"journal":{"name":"Computers in biology and medicine","volume":"203 ","pages":"Article 111473"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2026-01-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145976663","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-15DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2026.111476
F. Saritha , R. Aswath Kumar , K.V. Dileep
Progesterone (P4) is a steroid hormone involved in the regulation of female reproductive functions. The endogenous progesterone receptor (PR), a member of the nuclear receptor family of ligand-dependent transcription regulators responsible for P4 action in the body through the ‘ligand binding domain’ (LBD). PR isoforms, PR-A and PR-B, are encoded by a single gene, PGR and variations in this gene can disrupt cellular signaling. In the current study, putative disease-causing mutations on PR has been identified through computationally and its mechanistic effects were explored using structural bioinformatics tools. Studies suggested that 11 of 66 missense variants (within the LBD) induce structural destabilization and were identified as potentially deleterious. Our ensemble docking suggested that these variations have a limited impact on P4 binding, however they significantly disrupt the binding of co-activators as evident by the protein-peptide docking. The binding of co-activators to the PR is the determining factor for the P4 signaling. Finally, based on the free energy of binding, we proposed two variations such as R869H and C798Y could cause myoma and progesterone tolerance conditions respectively. These findings were further validated through the use of allostery predictions. Our results reveal distinct mechanisms by which PR mutations modulate receptor function, laying the framework for future mechanistic studies and therapeutic development for PR-associated reproductive disorders.
{"title":"Unravelling the structural impact of progesterone receptor mutations in myoma and progesterone intolerance through computational modeling","authors":"F. Saritha , R. Aswath Kumar , K.V. Dileep","doi":"10.1016/j.compbiomed.2026.111476","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.compbiomed.2026.111476","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Progesterone (P4) is a steroid hormone involved in the regulation of female reproductive functions. The endogenous progesterone receptor (PR), a member of the nuclear receptor family of ligand-dependent transcription regulators responsible for P4 action in the body through the ‘ligand binding domain’ (LBD). PR isoforms, PR-A and PR-B, are encoded by a single gene, PGR and variations in this gene can disrupt cellular signaling. In the current study, putative disease-causing mutations on PR has been identified through computationally and its mechanistic effects were explored using structural bioinformatics tools. Studies suggested that 11 of 66 missense variants (within the LBD) induce structural destabilization and were identified as potentially deleterious. Our ensemble docking suggested that these variations have a limited impact on P4 binding, however they significantly disrupt the binding of co-activators as evident by the protein-peptide docking. The binding of co-activators to the PR is the determining factor for the P4 signaling. Finally, based on the free energy of binding, we proposed two variations such as R869H and C798Y could cause myoma and progesterone tolerance conditions respectively. These findings were further validated through the use of allostery predictions. Our results reveal distinct mechanisms by which PR mutations modulate receptor function, laying the framework for future mechanistic studies and therapeutic development for PR-associated reproductive disorders.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":10578,"journal":{"name":"Computers in biology and medicine","volume":"202 ","pages":"Article 111476"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2026-01-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145974290","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
We present a high-performance predictive framework for anticancer peptide (ACP) identification, based on a stacking ensemble learning approach that synergistically combines convolutional neural networks and transformer models using a random forest as a meta-classifier. This architecture is driven by conjoint sequence representations that integrate both one-hot encoding and pre-trained evolutionary scale modeling embeddings, enabling the extraction of complementary local and global features from peptide sequences. Our proposed model achieved a robust accuracy of 88.9% on the primary ACP data set, while maintaining competitive or superior performance across multiple external benchmark data sets, with accuracies ranging from 83.2% to 95.2%, highlighting its strong generalization capability on par with the state-of-the-art models. To demonstrate translational relevance, the model was applied to a curated set of clinically approved and candidate ACPs, producing probabilistic scores to support experimental prioritization. To further enhance model interpretability, SHapley Additive exPlanations analysis was employed, revealing lysine as a consistently influential residue, alongside other positively charged and hydrophobic amino acids. These findings not only corroborate known mechanistic insights into ACP-membrane interactions but also highlight the utility of model-derived feature importance in guiding peptide design. Taken together, this work introduces a robust, interpretable, and generalizable approach for computational ACP prediction, offering valuable implications for peptide-based anticancer drug discovery. To enhance the accessibility and translational potential of our model, we developed an interactive web-based prediction tool, named ACPredictor, for the identification of ACPs. This platform is freely available at https://acpredictor.streamlit.app/.
{"title":"Accurate prediction of anticancer peptides using a stacking ensemble of convolutional and transformer models with conjoint sequence representations","authors":"Huynh Anh Duy , Phurinut Khampasri , Pimmada Janthanet , Patlissa Pattiyamongkhonkul , Tarapong Srisongkram","doi":"10.1016/j.compbiomed.2026.111463","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.compbiomed.2026.111463","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We present a high-performance predictive framework for anticancer peptide (ACP) identification, based on a stacking ensemble learning approach that synergistically combines convolutional neural networks and transformer models using a random forest as a meta-classifier. This architecture is driven by conjoint sequence representations that integrate both one-hot encoding and pre-trained evolutionary scale modeling embeddings, enabling the extraction of complementary local and global features from peptide sequences. Our proposed model achieved a robust accuracy of 88.9% on the primary ACP data set, while maintaining competitive or superior performance across multiple external benchmark data sets, with accuracies ranging from 83.2% to 95.2%, highlighting its strong generalization capability on par with the state-of-the-art models. To demonstrate translational relevance, the model was applied to a curated set of clinically approved and candidate ACPs, producing probabilistic scores to support experimental prioritization. To further enhance model interpretability, SHapley Additive exPlanations analysis was employed, revealing lysine as a consistently influential residue, alongside other positively charged and hydrophobic amino acids. These findings not only corroborate known mechanistic insights into ACP-membrane interactions but also highlight the utility of model-derived feature importance in guiding peptide design. Taken together, this work introduces a robust, interpretable, and generalizable approach for computational ACP prediction, offering valuable implications for peptide-based anticancer drug discovery. To enhance the accessibility and translational potential of our model, we developed an interactive web-based prediction tool, named <em>ACPredictor</em>, for the identification of ACPs. This platform is freely available at <span><span>https://acpredictor.streamlit.app/</span><svg><path></path></svg></span>.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":10578,"journal":{"name":"Computers in biology and medicine","volume":"202 ","pages":"Article 111463"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2026-01-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145974291","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-14DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2025.111424
Hazique Aetesam , Mohammad Amber Rizvi
The electrocardiogram (ECG) is a valuable and non-invasive tool for detecting and preventing arrhythmias. However, in real-world situations, ECG signals are often contaminated by various types of noise, which can lead to clinical misdiagnoses. As a result, significant attention is given to developing methods to denoise ECG signals to ensure an accurate diagnosis and prognosis. This paper aims to develop a novel variational inference method that combines noise estimation and signal denoising within a unified Bayesian framework, specifically designed to effectively denoise ECG signals from any patient. Our method, the Deep Bayesian ECG Signal Restoration Network (DeeBayes), takes advantage of data-driven deep learning techniques, enabling efficient denoising through its explicit expression of posterior probabilities. Furthermore, DeeBayes incorporates the benefits of traditional model-driven approaches, particularly the strong generalization capabilities of generative models. This ensures that DeeBayes is both interpretable and adaptive for accurately estimating and removing complex non-independent and identically distributed (non-iid) noise patterns. Qualitative and quantitative experimental results conducted on noisy ECG signals with varying input signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) levels demonstrate that the proposed approach outperforms other state-of-the-art ECG signal restoration models, including those based on fully connected neural networks and convolutional neural networks.
Source code is available at:https://github.com/marizvi/DeeBayes.
{"title":"DeeBayes: An interpretable deep Bayesian network for ECG signal restoration","authors":"Hazique Aetesam , Mohammad Amber Rizvi","doi":"10.1016/j.compbiomed.2025.111424","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.compbiomed.2025.111424","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The electrocardiogram (ECG) is a valuable and non-invasive tool for detecting and preventing arrhythmias. However, in real-world situations, ECG signals are often contaminated by various types of noise, which can lead to clinical misdiagnoses. As a result, significant attention is given to developing methods to denoise ECG signals to ensure an accurate diagnosis and prognosis. This paper aims to develop a novel variational inference method that combines noise estimation and signal denoising within a unified Bayesian framework, specifically designed to effectively denoise ECG signals from any patient. Our method, the Deep Bayesian ECG Signal Restoration Network <em>(DeeBayes)</em>, takes advantage of data-driven deep learning techniques, enabling efficient denoising through its explicit expression of posterior probabilities. Furthermore, <em>DeeBayes</em> incorporates the benefits of traditional model-driven approaches, particularly the strong generalization capabilities of generative models. This ensures that <em>DeeBayes</em> is both interpretable and adaptive for accurately estimating and removing complex non-independent and identically distributed (non-iid) noise patterns. Qualitative and quantitative experimental results conducted on noisy ECG signals with varying input signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) levels demonstrate that the proposed approach outperforms other state-of-the-art ECG signal restoration models, including those based on fully connected neural networks and convolutional neural networks.</div><div><strong>Source code is available at:</strong> <span><span>https://github.com/marizvi/DeeBayes</span><svg><path></path></svg></span>.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":10578,"journal":{"name":"Computers in biology and medicine","volume":"202 ","pages":"Article 111424"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2026-01-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145974289","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Halophilic organisms are among the oldest microorganisms on earth which thrive in extreme saline environments through unique physiological and biochemical mechanisms. Halophiles are classified into extreme, moderate, and mild groups based on their salt tolerance. Proteins play a crucial role in their adaptation by undergoing structural modifications and cellular alterations and allowing them to maintain stability and functionality in high-saline conditions. To support research on halophilic adaptations, we have developed an advanced Halophile Protein Database 2.0 (HProtDB 2.0) which serves as a comprehensive resource for analyzing the physicochemical properties of halophilic proteins. This database provides extensive data on diverse physicochemical properties, including molecular weight, theoretical pI, amino acid composition, atomic composition, instability index, aliphatic index, extinction coefficients, estimated half-life, and the grand average of the hydropathicity index. These properties help researchers understand how halophilic proteins maintain their structure and function by influencing salt-ion interaction, solubility and protein folding. HProtDB 2.0 significantly expands the earlier version by increasing its dataset from 59,897 protein sequences (21 strains) to 777,979 protein sequences (54 strains) with enhanced precision in physicochemical properties. We developed R programs to compute physicochemical properties of halophilic proteins. Additionally, we designed the database using a three-tier web architecture, integrating HTML, CSS, and JavaScript for the front-end, PHP for server-side scripting, and MySQL for data storage. Researchers can access HProtDB 2.0 at: http://proteindb2.iari.res.in; http://webapp.cabgrid.res.in/proteindb2.0/. This database will serve as valuable tool for researchers seeking information on the characteristics and features of proteins adapted to salt conditions.
{"title":"The halophile protein database 2.0: A comprehensive resource of physico-chemical properties of halophilic proteins","authors":"Sudhir Srivastava , Mohammad Samir Farooqi , Deepa Bhatt, Priyanka Balley, Jyotika Bhati, Anu Sharma, Dwijesh Chandra Mishra, Krishna Kumar Chaturvedi, Shashi Bhushan Lal, Girish Kumar Jha","doi":"10.1016/j.compbiomed.2026.111477","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.compbiomed.2026.111477","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Halophilic organisms are among the oldest microorganisms on earth which thrive in extreme saline environments through unique physiological and biochemical mechanisms. Halophiles are classified into extreme, moderate, and mild groups based on their salt tolerance. Proteins play a crucial role in their adaptation by undergoing structural modifications and cellular alterations and allowing them to maintain stability and functionality in high-saline conditions. To support research on halophilic adaptations, we have developed an advanced Halophile Protein Database 2.0 (HProtDB 2.0) which serves as a comprehensive resource for analyzing the physicochemical properties of halophilic proteins. This database provides extensive data on diverse physicochemical properties, including molecular weight, theoretical pI, amino acid composition, atomic composition, instability index, aliphatic index, extinction coefficients, estimated half-life, and the grand average of the hydropathicity index. These properties help researchers understand how halophilic proteins maintain their structure and function by influencing salt-ion interaction, solubility and protein folding. HProtDB 2.0 significantly expands the earlier version by increasing its dataset from 59,897 protein sequences (21 strains) to 777,979 protein sequences (54 strains) with enhanced precision in physicochemical properties. We developed R programs to compute physicochemical properties of halophilic proteins. Additionally, we designed the database using a three-tier web architecture, integrating HTML, CSS, and JavaScript for the front-end, PHP for server-side scripting, and MySQL for data storage. Researchers can access HProtDB 2.0 at: <span><span>http://proteindb2.iari.res.in</span><svg><path></path></svg></span>; <span><span>http://webapp.cabgrid.res.in/proteindb2.0/</span><svg><path></path></svg></span>. This database will serve as valuable tool for researchers seeking information on the characteristics and features of proteins adapted to salt conditions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":10578,"journal":{"name":"Computers in biology and medicine","volume":"202 ","pages":"Article 111477"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2026-01-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145974292","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-14DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2026.111459
V. Shamala , S. Preethi , V. Hemamalini , S. Asha Devi
Alteration of a nucleotide within a triplet codon results in substitution of a different amino acid in the protein sequence, collectively termed as missense or non-synonymous Single-Nucleotide Polymorphisms (nsSNPs). Cytoplasmic T Lymphocytes Antigen-4 (CTLA-4) gene encodes a transmembrane protein expressed on activated T cells. CTLA-4 receptor acts as an immunoregulatory molecule that prompts immunological self-tolerance by rapidly inhibiting T cell-mediated immune responses, via inactivation and elimination of T cells. Polymorphism within CTLA-4 coding region could efficiently disrupt trans-endocytosis process by decreasing its interaction towards B7 ligands (B7-1: CD80 and B7-2: CD86) molecules expressed on Antigen Presenting Cells (APCs). In the present study, we utilized several computational techniques to predict the highly disease-susceptible nsSNPs that potentially impact on structure and function of CTLA-4 protein. Followed by computational docking and Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations for CTLA-4/CD80 protein complex were conducted. Our research findings reveal that seventeen nsSNPs were found to be highly pathogenic and structurally destabilizing CTLA-4 protein. Subsequently, an evolutionary ConSurf profile reveals that nine nsSNPs were highly conserved and also affect bio-physicochemical properties, three-dimensional RNA structure, post-translational modification sites, secondary and tertiary structure of CTLA-4 protein. Molecular docking of CTLA-4/CD80 protein complex indicates that rs1553657429-P137L and rs1356678649-N145H nsSNPs have efficiently decreased the binding affinity towards B7-1 protein. The MD simulation also reveal CTLA-4 P137L, located within ligand-binding domain (MYPPPY motif) and N145H at N-glycosylation site, were significantly considered to be high-risk nsSNPs that interfere association with B7-1 protein by decreasing structural stability and flexibility of CTLA-4 protein.
{"title":"Demystifying the implications of disease-susceptible missense SNPs within CTLA-4 ligand binding domain and its interaction towards B7-1 protein complex: Bioinformatics-driven evidence","authors":"V. Shamala , S. Preethi , V. Hemamalini , S. Asha Devi","doi":"10.1016/j.compbiomed.2026.111459","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.compbiomed.2026.111459","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Alteration of a nucleotide within a triplet codon results in substitution of a different amino acid in the protein sequence, collectively termed as missense or non-synonymous Single-Nucleotide Polymorphisms (nsSNPs). Cytoplasmic T Lymphocytes Antigen-4 (CTLA-4) gene encodes a transmembrane protein expressed on activated T cells. CTLA-4 receptor acts as an immunoregulatory molecule that prompts immunological self-tolerance by rapidly inhibiting T cell-mediated immune responses, via inactivation and elimination of T cells. Polymorphism within CTLA-4 coding region could efficiently disrupt trans-endocytosis process by decreasing its interaction towards B7 ligands (B7-1: CD80 and B7-2: CD86) molecules expressed on Antigen Presenting Cells (APCs). In the present study, we utilized several computational techniques to predict the highly disease-susceptible nsSNPs that potentially impact on structure and function of CTLA-4 protein. Followed by computational docking and Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations for CTLA-4/CD80 protein complex were conducted. Our research findings reveal that seventeen nsSNPs were found to be highly pathogenic and structurally destabilizing CTLA-4 protein. Subsequently, an evolutionary ConSurf profile reveals that nine nsSNPs were highly conserved and also affect bio-physicochemical properties, three-dimensional RNA structure, post-translational modification sites, secondary and tertiary structure of CTLA-4 protein. Molecular docking of CTLA-4/CD80 protein complex indicates that rs1553657429-P137L and rs1356678649-N145H nsSNPs have efficiently decreased the binding affinity towards B7-1 protein. The MD simulation also reveal CTLA-4 P137L, located within ligand-binding domain (MYPPPY motif) and N145H at N-glycosylation site, were significantly considered to be high-risk nsSNPs that interfere association with B7-1 protein by decreasing structural stability and flexibility of CTLA-4 protein.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":10578,"journal":{"name":"Computers in biology and medicine","volume":"202 ","pages":"Article 111459"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2026-01-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145974216","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-13DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2025.111429
Atakan Vatansever
Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis, an emerging tick-borne pathogen linked to systemic inflammatory syndromes, poses significant risk to immunocompromised individuals due to its intracellular nature, diagnostic limitations, and lack of targeted vaccines. In this study, immunoinformatics-based methods were applied to design a multi-epitope subunit vaccine targeting surface and conserved immunogenic proteins of N. mikurensis. Virtual screening of 237 proteins identified 377 T-cell and 177 B-cell high-affinity epitopes, prioritized based on antigenicity, non-allergenicity, non-toxicity, and global HLA coverage. T4SS and Pdr-DsbD proteins demonstrated the highest immunological relevance, with T4SS epitopes achieving 100 % global population coverage. Structural modeling revealed stable protein folds, accessible epitopes, and functional ligand-binding pockets, supporting vaccine design reliability. Inclusion of globally effective, high-affinity epitopes is a useful strategy for the creation of subunit vaccines against N. mikurensis. These findings revealed the value of reverse vaccinology and structural bioinformatics for accelerating vaccine development for intracellular bacteria. In conclusion, this in silico approach to vaccine design provides a promising method for guiding subsequent experimental validation and preventive action against neoehrlichiosis.
{"title":"Multi-subunit vaccine design against Neoehrlichia mikurensis by applying structure-based in silico approach","authors":"Atakan Vatansever","doi":"10.1016/j.compbiomed.2025.111429","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.compbiomed.2025.111429","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div><em>Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis</em>, an emerging tick-borne pathogen linked to systemic inflammatory syndromes, poses significant risk to immunocompromised individuals due to its intracellular nature, diagnostic limitations, and lack of targeted vaccines. In this study, immunoinformatics-based methods were applied to design a multi-epitope subunit vaccine targeting surface and conserved immunogenic proteins of <em>N. mikurensis</em>. Virtual screening of 237 proteins identified 377 T-cell and 177 B-cell high-affinity epitopes, prioritized based on antigenicity, non-allergenicity, non-toxicity, and global HLA coverage. T4SS and Pdr-DsbD proteins demonstrated the highest immunological relevance, with T4SS epitopes achieving 100 % global population coverage. Structural modeling revealed stable protein folds, accessible epitopes, and functional ligand-binding pockets, supporting vaccine design reliability. Inclusion of globally effective, high-affinity epitopes is a useful strategy for the creation of subunit vaccines against <em>N. mikurensis</em>. These findings revealed the value of reverse vaccinology and structural bioinformatics for accelerating vaccine development for intracellular bacteria. In conclusion, this <em>in silico</em> approach to vaccine design provides a promising method for guiding subsequent experimental validation and preventive action against neoehrlichiosis.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":10578,"journal":{"name":"Computers in biology and medicine","volume":"202 ","pages":"Article 111429"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2026-01-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145974293","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-13DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2026.111456
Nabila Ishaque Ira , Nishika Jaishee , Ayan Saha , Devashan Naidoo , Shazneen Tasnim Islam , Tazneen Hossain Tani , Neeta Raj Sharma , Akash Anandraj , Syed Mohammad Lokman , Claudio Angione , Ayan Roy
Sindbis virus (SINV), belonging to the genus Alphavirus, is the causative agent of Pogosta disease in humans. The clinical infection is characterized by fever, malaise, rash, myalgia, and arthralgia, which is generally self-limiting. Chronic infection with SINV triggers autoimmune conditions that lead to persistent arthritis. Despite its clinical relevance, no licensed vaccine is currently available for the prevention of SINV infection. To the best of our knowledge, this study presents the first in silico design and evaluation of a multi-epitope vaccine candidate against SINV. Using an integrated immunoinformatics framework, the SINV structural polyprotein was systematically screened, leading to the identification of twelve highly antigenic immunological hotspots, derived from both experimentally validated and computationally predicted B-cell and T-cell epitopes. These epitopes were rationally assembled into a 317–amino acid multi-epitope vaccine construct using suitable linkers and the human β-defensin 2 as an immunostimulatory adjuvant. The designed construct exhibited favorable antigenicity, non-toxicity, stability, and physicochemical properties. Molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations demonstrated encouraging interactions between the vaccine construct and innate immune receptors TLR-2 and TLR-4, highlighting its potential to trigger immune responses. Immune simulation predicted robust humoral and cell-mediated immune responses, while codon optimization and in silico cloning into the pETite vector indicated expression feasibility in Escherichia coli K12. This work proposes a novel immunoinformatics and molecular dynamics–based vaccine design pipeline for Sindbis virus and presents a computationally validated multi-epitope vaccine candidate, providing a foundation for future experimental validation toward effective vaccine development.
{"title":"Development of a multi-epitope vaccine candidate against Sindbis virus through integrated immunoinformatics approaches and molecular dynamics simulations","authors":"Nabila Ishaque Ira , Nishika Jaishee , Ayan Saha , Devashan Naidoo , Shazneen Tasnim Islam , Tazneen Hossain Tani , Neeta Raj Sharma , Akash Anandraj , Syed Mohammad Lokman , Claudio Angione , Ayan Roy","doi":"10.1016/j.compbiomed.2026.111456","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.compbiomed.2026.111456","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Sindbis virus (SINV), belonging to the genus <em>Alphavirus</em>, is the causative agent of Pogosta disease in humans. The clinical infection is characterized by fever, malaise, rash, myalgia, and arthralgia, which is generally self-limiting. Chronic infection with SINV triggers autoimmune conditions that lead to persistent arthritis. Despite its clinical relevance, no licensed vaccine is currently available for the prevention of SINV infection. To the best of our knowledge, this study presents the first <em>in silico</em> design and evaluation of a multi-epitope vaccine candidate against SINV. Using an integrated immunoinformatics framework, the SINV structural polyprotein was systematically screened, leading to the identification of twelve highly antigenic immunological hotspots, derived from both experimentally validated and computationally predicted B-cell and T-cell epitopes. These epitopes were rationally assembled into a 317–amino acid multi-epitope vaccine construct using suitable linkers and the human β-defensin 2 as an immunostimulatory adjuvant. The designed construct exhibited favorable antigenicity, non-toxicity, stability, and physicochemical properties. Molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations demonstrated encouraging interactions between the vaccine construct and innate immune receptors TLR-2 and TLR-4, highlighting its potential to trigger immune responses. Immune simulation predicted robust humoral and cell-mediated immune responses, while codon optimization and <em>in silico</em> cloning into the pETite vector indicated expression feasibility in <em>Escherichia coli</em> K12. This work proposes a novel immunoinformatics and molecular dynamics–based vaccine design pipeline for Sindbis virus and presents a computationally validated multi-epitope vaccine candidate, providing a foundation for future experimental validation toward effective vaccine development.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":10578,"journal":{"name":"Computers in biology and medicine","volume":"202 ","pages":"Article 111456"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2026-01-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145974217","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}