Computational and bioinformatics analysis of type I recombinant canine interferon-alpha 7: A potential anti-viral therapeutic agent

Interferons (IFNs) are representative cytokines that play important roles in innate immunity, which is produced to defend against pathogens. Interferons (IFNs), especially type I IFNs (INF-α and INF-β) have been explored as effective antiviral therapeutic drugs against a wide range of viral diseases in the canine population. Among the type I IFN-α subtypes, recombinant INF-α7 has potent antiviral activity in homologous cell lines against a wide range of viruses. Nevertheless, there is limited knowledge regarding the computational and bioinformatics analysis of the potent antiviral therapeutic agent, the canine recombinant IFN-α7 (CaIFN-α7) protein. Several online bioinformatics software programs were used to analyze the characteristics of the potent CaIFN-α7 protein, including the identification of potential N-glycosylation sites, O-glycosylation sites, signal peptide cleavage sites, phosphorylation sites, and trans-membrane regions. Furthermore, we utilized online software to predict antigen epitopes, secondary and three-dimensional structures of the CaIFN-α7 protein. Hence, this computational and bioinformatics analysis aids in getting deeper knowledge and further insights into the promising, effective therapeutic potential of CaINF-α7 for treating different viral infections in canines.