Tabriz University of Medical Sciences BioImpacts 2228-5652 16 1 2026 01 04 In silico prediction of vaccine and diagnostic epitopes in Bartonella henselae MopA, VceA, and LemA proteins 33561 33561 10.34172/bi.33561 EN Mervenur Güvendi https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9189-8324 Muhammet Karakavuk https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2468-5564 Aysu Değirmenci Döşkaya https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0363-9099 Hüseyin Can https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9633-9786 Mert Döşkaya https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6868-008X Adnan Yüksel Gürüz https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7920-9429 Cemal Ün https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4248-9671 Journal Article 10.34172/bi.33561 2026 02 14 2026 07 08 Introduction: Bartonella henselae represents a significant zoonotic threat for humans and has diagnostic challenges. In addition, any commercial vaccine isn’t currently available. Methods: In this study, bioinformatics and immunoinformatics analyses were used to identify the vaccine and diagnostic epitopes of B. henselae MopA, VceA, and LemA proteins. Initially, the physicochemical properties, secondary structures, and antigenicity of the MopA, VceA, and LemA proteins from B. henselae were evaluated. Then, B and T-cell epitopes were predicted, and further analyzed in terms of antigenicity, allergenicity, solubility, and homology to the human proteome to determine suitable candidates for the final vaccine construct. The normal mode and molecular docking analyses were performed between the final vaccine construct and the TLR2 receptor. Finally, the immune response against the final vaccine construct was predicted. Results: In silico analyses identified many B and T-cell epitopes with promising immunological and physicochemical properties. Among these, several epitopes showed high antigenicity scores (EINARVNQI, RAANALTVK, SVQIDTRTK and TSGQVISEDVGIKLE). In addition, the newly designed vaccine construct containing epitopes from MopA, Vce, and LemA proteins was found to interact with TLR2 and may stimulate adaptive immune responses. Conclusion: The present study provides a comprehensive in silico epitope mapping of MopA, VceA, and LemA proteins of B. henselae. The identified epitopes and the vaccine construct can be candidate antigens for the development of serological tests and peptide vaccines. However, experimental studies are needed to validate their diagnostic performance and immunogenic potential.