Riaz Muhammad

Dr. Riaz Muhammad


Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

5Years (2022-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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7 November 2023 in Molecular Biotechnology
Verified
Journal Article
Closed access
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AUAsad Ullah Ullah
Asad Ullah Ullah
BRBushra Rehman
Bushra Rehman
SKSaifullah Khan
Saifullah Khan
TATaghreed Almanaa
Taghreed Almanaa
YWYasir Waheed
Yasir Waheed
Sajjad AhmadSajjad Ahmad
Sajjad Ahmad

16 October 2022 in Vaccines
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
MNMahreen Nawaz
Mahreen Nawaz
AUAsad Ullah Ullah
Asad Ullah Ullah
AAAlhanouf I. Al-Harbi
Alhanouf I. Al-Harbi
MHMahboob Ul Haq
Mahboob Ul Haq
AHAlaa Raad Hameed
Alaa Raad Hameed
RMRiaz Muhammad
Riaz Muhammad
Staphylococcus hominis is a Gram-positive bacterium from the staphylococcus genus; it is also a member of coagulase-negative staphylococci because of its opportunistic nature and ability to cause life-threatening bloodstream infections in immunocompromised patients. Gram-positive and opportunistic bacteria have become a major concern for the medical community. It has also drawn the attention of scientists due to the evaluation of immune evasion tactics and the development of multidrug-resistant strains. This prompted the need to explore novel therapeutic approaches as an alternative to antibiotics. The current study aimed to develop a broad-spectrum, multi-epitope vaccine to control bacterial infections and reduce the burden on healthcare systems. A computational framework was designed to filter the immunogenic potent vaccine candidate. This framework consists of pan-genomics, subtractive proteomics, and immunoinformatics approaches to prioritize vaccine candidates. A total of 12,285 core proteins were obtained using a pan-genome analysis of all strains. The screening of the core proteins resulted in the selection of only two proteins for the next epitope prediction phase. Eleven B-cell derived T-cell epitopes were selected that met the criteria of different immunoinformatics approaches such as allergenicity, antigenicity, immunogenicity, and toxicity. A vaccine construct was formulated using EAAAK and GPGPG linkers and a cholera toxin B subunit. This formulated vaccine construct was further used for downward analysis. The vaccine was loop refined and improved for structure stability through disulfide engineering. For an efficient expression, the codons were optimized as per the usage pattern of the E coli (K12) expression system. The top three refined docked complexes of the vaccine that docked with the MHC-I, MHC-II, and TLR-4 receptors were selected, which proved the best binding potential of the vaccine with immune receptors; this was followed by molecular dynamic simulations. The results indicate the best intermolecular bonding between immune receptors and vaccine epitopes and that they are exposed to the host’s immune system. Finally, the binding energies were calculated to confirm the binding stability of the docked complexes. This work aimed to provide a manageable list of immunogenic and antigenic epitopes that could be used as potent vaccine candidates for experimental in vivo and in vitro studies.