Third-Generation Vaccines: Features of Nucleic Acid Vaccines and Strategies to Improve Their Efficiency

Overview

Journal Genes (Basel)

Publisher MDPI

Date 2022 Dec 23

PMID 36553554

Authors

Alanne Rayssa da Silva Melo

Larissa Silva de Macedo

Maria da Conceicao Viana Invencao

Ingrid Andressa de Moura

Marco Antonio Turiah Machado da Gama

Cristiane Moutinho Lagos de Melo

Anna Jessica Duarte Silva

Marcus Vinicius de Aragao Batista

Antonio Carlos de Freitas

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Gene immunization comprises mRNA and DNA vaccines, which stand out due to their simple design, maintenance, and high efficacy. Several studies indicate promising results in preclinical and clinical trials regarding immunization against ebola, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), influenza, and human papillomavirus (HPV). The efficiency of nucleic acid vaccines has been highlighted in the fight against COVID-19 with unprecedented approval of their use in humans. However, their low intrinsic immunogenicity points to the need to use strategies capable of overcoming this characteristic and increasing the efficiency of vaccine campaigns. These strategies include the improvement of the epitopes' presentation to the system via MHC, the evaluation of immunodominant epitopes with high coverage against emerging viral subtypes, the use of adjuvants that enhance immunogenicity, and the increase in the efficiency of vaccine transfection. In this review, we provide updates regarding some characteristics, construction, and improvement of such vaccines, especially about the production of synthetic multi-epitope genes, widely employed in the current gene-based vaccines.

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