DNA-Based Vaccines Against Infectious Diseases and Cancers

Dear Colleagues,

Vaccines are one of the most important medical interventions for the prevention of infectious diseases and cancers. Among the technologies available for vaccine development, nucleic-acid-based vaccination is a promising alternative to conventional vaccines, as the coding sequences can be easily altered with little impact on downstream production. Although mRNA vaccines have been recognized as next-generation vaccines, the ultra-low temperature storage requirements of mRNA, in addition to the low physical stability and short half-life of these vaccines, limits their global availability. In contrast, DNA vaccines are very stable, easy to manufacture, and non-HLA specific. However, the potential of DNA vaccines has not been realized due to the poor cellular uptake of DNA in vivo, resulting in poor immunogenicity. Recent advances in DNA vaccines with improved plasmids, antigen presentation, and optimized prime-boost strategies have improved the efficacy of these vaccines. Despite these improvements, there are still no FDA-approved DNA vaccines for human use. To further develop DNA vaccines with improved functionality, interdisciplinary-focused research will be of great use. We can develop a DNA vaccine with optimized vaccine scheduling, enhancement of antigen stability, improved immunogenicity, manufactured nano-plasmids, and improved delivery systems.

We welcome the submission of original research articles, reviews, mini-reviews, perspective articles, opinion articles, and commentaries around the following topics, including, but not limited to:

• Recent advances in DNA vaccine technologies.
• Synthetic DNAvaccines and DNA-encoded monoclonal antibodies (DMAbs) to prevent infectious diseases and cancer. 
• Controlling gene expression using plasmid engineering and gene circuits.
• Enhancing the duration of immune response using molecular adjuvants.
• Novel methods to stabilize antigens for the development of vaccines.

Dr. Praveen Kumar Neeli and Dr. Dafei Chai are the Topical Advisory Panel Members of IJMS, and are assisting Dr. Srinivasa Reddy Bonam in supervising this Special Issue.

Dr. Srinivasa Reddy Bonam
Guest Editor

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• DNA vaccine
• immune responses
• infectious disease
• plasmids
• vaccine