Brugia Malayi - Clark Science Center - Smith College

Investigation of Immunogenicity Using Immune-Informatics Software
Jenny Jiang
Lymphatic filariasis, caused by parasitic worms, is a neglected tropical disease that affects millions of people, often poor people
in underdeveloped countries. It is the second leading cause of permanent and long-term disability worldwide. I analyzed datasets
of proteins secreted in the different life stages of the parasite using membrane topology software like Phobius and SignalP to test
how well these programs are at predicting secreted proteins for this organism. The results are shown in Figures 1 and 2.
Figure 1. Phobius predictions on all literature cited proteins.
The following chart demonstrates the overall predictions for a total of 974 proteins. These proteins were consolidated from
the published work of Moreno & Geary (2008) and Bennuru et al. (2009). The number of proteins within the overall 973 was
predicted as follows: 104 signals secreted, 19 signals transmembrane, 126 transmembrane, and 686 non-secreted. Non-secreted
proteins were a combination of cytoplasmic and non-cytoplasmic predictions (where non-cytoplasmic could also mean nuclear).
Figure 2. Signal P predictions on all literature cited proteins.
The graph represents the overall predictions for a total of 976 proteins. These proteins were consolidated from the
published work of Mereno & Geary (2008) and Bennuru et al. (2009). The number of proteins within the overall 976 was
predicted as follows: 101 signal secreted and 875 non-secreted.
As the results differ between the two membrane topology software it cannot be determined if these software can be used
to predict protein secretion. Further experimental testing is needed to determine the accuracy of immune-informatics software.
(Supported by the Schultz Foundation)
Advisor: Steve Williams
2012
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