DNA Vaccines and Their Use in Biodefense- A Review Study

Vaccines have long been used for a variety of pathogens. Advances in basic immunology and recombinant DNA technology have fundamentally transformed the process of formulating a concept, optimizing antigens, and selecting the most effective delivery approach for vaccines The development of vaccines used in the field of biodefense has increased progress in the production, immunological mechanisms and new vaccination approaches. DNA vaccines have emerged in the last decade as a completely novel strategy for vaccination to combat bioterrorism and biodefense. At first, their ability to induce antigen-specific T cell responses was considered as the main strength. Over time, however, it became clear that DNA vaccines are also effective in eliciting antibody responses. DNA vaccines incorporate a natural or modified gene from a pathogen, which encodes the protective antigen. DNA vaccines can be delivered directly in the form of plasmids. The vaccinated hosts will only generate immune responses against the biodefense antigen expressed by the DNA vaccines. Biodefense vaccines are critically important to protect populations against the emerging pathogens. With the increase of the outbreaks of viral diseases, multiple technologies are being used for the development of preventive countermeasures including DNA vaccines In this review article, we investigated the applications and mechanisms of the delivery of vaccines and the use of DNA vaccines in the field of biodefense.