Development of REC1: A Reverse Vaccinology-Derived Multi-Epitope Vaccine Candidate Against Brucellosis

Background/Objectives: Brucellosis is a widespread intracellular zoonosis that continues to impose substantial public-health and economic burdens in endemic regions. No human brucellosis vaccine has yet been approved, and most existing multi-epitope candidates rely solely on computational predictions, without population-specific human leukocyte antigen (HLA) optimization or in vivo epitope validation. REC1 is therefore an early-stage, proof-of-concept, human-oriented multi-epitope candidate, with epitopes screened against high-frequency HLA alleles in the Chinese population. This study developed a multi-epitope vaccine candidate, REC1, using an integrated reverse-vaccinology workflow.