Szczepionki DNA w prewencji chorob pasozytniczych: stan obecny i perspektywy

The introduction of genetic or "naked DNA" vaccines may open a new era in vaccinology. DNA vaccination is a relatively simple process: a recombinant vector containing cDNA of the potentially protective pathogen antigen, is delivered to a host organism under the control of a strong promoter. It has been demonstrated that the introduced DNA remains stable as an episome for a long time and does not integrate into a genome of vaccinated organism. The type of immune response elicited by DNA vaccination depends very much on the antigen used and on the way of the vaccine delivery. Generally, DNA vaccination induces Tol-dependent rather than Th2-dependent immune response. DNA vaccines present many advantages over "traditional" ones. Firstly, it is easier to obtain a considerable amount of DNA than similar quantities of purified protective antigen protein. Secondly, the antigenic proteins synthesised within the host cell possess an appropriate molecular structure and undergo a posttranslational modifications specific for the native protein. The posttranslational modifications, for example glycosylation, cannot be introduced during expression of the recombinant protein antigens in bacterial hosts.