DNA Vaccines 2022

A special issue of Viruses (ISSN 1999-4915). This special issue belongs to the section "Viral Immunology, Vaccines, and Antivirals".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 September 2023) | Viewed by 5133

Special Issue Editor

Department of Microbiology, University of Washington and the Washington National Primate Research Center, Seattle, WA, USA
Interests: nucleic acid vaccines; viral immunity

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Over 30 years ago, nucleic acid vaccines (DNA or mRNA) emerged as a novel concept to induce immune responses. DNA vaccines quickly surged ahead of mRNA vaccines as the dominant strategy due to their superior stability, lower inflammatory potential, greater ease in manufacturing, and amenability to a wider range of delivery methods without requiring specialized formulations. In the past three decades, DNA vaccine research provided the first proof-of-concepts that nucleic acid vaccines could be used to protect from a range of viral diseases and treat chronic viral infections and cancers. The decades of research in DNA vaccines paved the way for mRNA vaccines to overcome their initial challenges and provide our best defense against COVID-19. While DNA vaccines have struggled to find a similar degree of success in humans, the recent approval of the very first DNA vaccine for COVID-19 in India offers a reminder that, with further research, DNA vaccines can and will have their day.

This Special Issue will focus on recent advances in DNA vaccines, including:

  1. strategies to improve DNA vaccine immunogenicity including delivery, adjuvants, immunogen design, and formulations;
  2. molecular and host mechanisms that mediate or influence DNA vaccine immunogenicity and efficacy;
  3. the development of DNA vaccines for the protection or treatment of disease caused by viruses and oncoviruses.

Contributions will be accepted in the format of original research reports and reviews covering a range of subjects related to DNA vaccines and opinion articles. This Special Issue of Viruses will offer scientists working in the field of nucleic acid vaccines a forum to share the latest advances in DNA vaccines.

Prof. Dr. Deborah H. Fuller
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Viruses is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 3232 KiB  
Article
Immunisation Using Novel DNA Vaccine Encoding Virus Membrane Fusion Complex and Chemokine Genes Shows High Protection from HSV-2
by Ursula A. Gompels, Fernando J. Bravo, Sean Briggs, Shima Ameri, Rhonda D. Cardin and David I. Bernstein
Viruses 2022, 14(11), 2317; https://doi.org/10.3390/v14112317 - 22 Oct 2022
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Abstract
Herpes simplex virus 1 and 2 infections cause high unmet disease burdens worldwide. Mainly HSV-2 causes persistent sexually transmitted disease, fatal neonatal disease and increased transmission of HIV/AIDS. Thus, there is an urgent requirement to develop effective vaccines. We developed nucleic acid vaccines [...] Read more.
Herpes simplex virus 1 and 2 infections cause high unmet disease burdens worldwide. Mainly HSV-2 causes persistent sexually transmitted disease, fatal neonatal disease and increased transmission of HIV/AIDS. Thus, there is an urgent requirement to develop effective vaccines. We developed nucleic acid vaccines encoding a novel virus entry complex stabilising cell membrane fusion, ‘virus-like membranes’, VLM. Two dose intramuscular immunisations using DNA expression plasmids in a guinea pig model gave 100% protection against acute disease and significantly reduced virus replication after virus intravaginal challenge. There was also reduced establishment of latency within the dorsal root ganglia and spinal cord, but recurrent disease and recurrent virus shedding remained. To increase cellular immunity and protect against recurrent disease, cDNA encoding an inhibitor of chemokine receptors on T regulatory cells was added and compared to chemokine CCL5 effects. Immunisation including this novel human chemokine gene, newly defined splice variant from an endogenous virus genome, ‘virokine immune therapeutic’, VIT, protected most guinea pigs from recurrent disease and reduced recurrent virus shedding distinct from a gD protein vaccine similar to that previously evaluated in clinical trials. All DNA vaccines induced significant neutralising antibodies and warrant evaluation for new therapeutic treatments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue DNA Vaccines 2022)
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12 pages, 6795 KiB  
Article
Immunogenicity of Varicella Zoster Virus DNA Vaccines Encoding Glycoprotein E and Immediate Early Protein 63 in Mice
by Jie Liu, Junyang Lin, Linjun Cai, Jie Sun, Xue Ding, Cenrong Wang, Yanchun Wu, Xiaoling Gao, Weiheng Su and Chunlai Jiang
Viruses 2022, 14(6), 1214; https://doi.org/10.3390/v14061214 - 02 Jun 2022
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Abstract
Herpes zoster (HZ) is caused by the reactivation of latent varicella-zoster virus (VZV) from the sensory ganglia due to aging or immunosuppression. Glycoprotein E (gE) is a widely used vaccine antigen for specific humoral and cellular immune responses. Immediate early protein 63 (IE63) [...] Read more.
Herpes zoster (HZ) is caused by the reactivation of latent varicella-zoster virus (VZV) from the sensory ganglia due to aging or immunosuppression. Glycoprotein E (gE) is a widely used vaccine antigen for specific humoral and cellular immune responses. Immediate early protein 63 (IE63) is expressed during latency, suggesting that it is a potential antigen against HZ reactivation. In this study, HZ DNA vaccines encoding gE, IE63, IE63-2A-gE (where 2A is a self-cleaving sequence), or IE63-linker-gE were developed and investigated for immunogenicity in mice. The results showed that each HZ DNA vaccine induced VZV-specific antibody production. The neutralizing antibody titer elicited by IE63-2A-gE was comparable to that elicited by gE or live attenuated HZ vaccine (LAV). IE63-2A-gE-induced gE or IE63-specific INF-γ+ T cell frequencies in splenocytes were comparable to those of LAV. Furthermore, IE63-2A-gE, gE, or IE63 led to a significant increase in IFN-γ (IE63 stimulation) and IL-2 (gE stimulation) secretion compared to LAV, showing a Th1-biased immune response. Moreover, IE63-2A-gE and gE induced cytotoxic activity of CD8+ T cells compared to that of LAV. This study elucidates that the IE63-2A-gE DNA vaccine can induce both humoral and cell-mediated immune responses, which provides a candidate for the development of an HZ vaccine. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue DNA Vaccines 2022)
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