A Review on DNA Vaccines

A DNA vaccine uses foreign DNA to express an encoded protein and stimulate the body's immune system. It represents a new approach to immunization which is potentially less expensive than the old vaccines. The development of DNA vaccines against the pathogens that use veterinary species as host is completely feasible and going on and it is a promising technology in veterinary sciences. There is promising approach for generating desired immunity: cytolytic T lymphocytes(CTL). Certain methods like gene gun and electroporation are used to deliver DNA vaccines but phage mediated immunization is the recent technology to deliver the DNA vaccines that offers an extremely elegant and rapid method for identifying potential vaccine candidates for newly emerging diseases or for pathogens for which protective antigens have not yet been identified. Antigen presenting cells like dendritic cells (DCs) play an important role in increasing the potency of DNA vaccines. Anti-angiogenic DNA vaccine may prove promising strategy for the treatment of the cancer. DNA vaccines undergo through clinical trials to find the way to treat autoimmune diseases, hepatitis, mycobacterial diseases, allergy and malaria.