Recombinant vaccines and the development of new vaccine strategies
Braz. j. med. biol. res
;
45(12): 1102-1111, Dec. 2012. tab
Article
in English
| LILACS
| ID: lil-659651
ABSTRACT
Vaccines were initially developed on an empirical basis, relying mostly on attenuation or inactivation of pathogens. Advances in immunology, molecular biology, biochemistry, genomics, and proteomics have added new perspectives to the vaccinology field. The use of recombinant proteins allows the targeting of immune responses focused against few protective antigens. There are a variety of expression systems with different advantages, allowing the production of large quantities of proteins depending on the required characteristics. Live recombinant bacteria or viral vectors effectively stimulate the immune system as in natural infections and have intrinsic adjuvant properties. DNA vaccines, which consist of non-replicating plasmids, can induce strong long-term cellular immune responses. Prime-boost strategies combine different antigen delivery systems to broaden the immune response. In general, all of these strategies have shown advantages and disadvantages, and their use will depend on the knowledge of the mechanisms of infection of the target pathogen and of the immune response required for protection. In this review, we discuss some of the major breakthroughs that have been achieved using recombinant vaccine technologies, as well as new approaches and strategies for vaccine development, including potential shortcomings and risks.
Full text:
Available
Index:
LILACS (Americas)
Main subject:
Bacterial Vaccines
/
Viral Vaccines
/
Vaccines, Synthetic
/
Genetic Vectors
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
Braz. j. med. biol. res
Journal subject:
Biology
/
Medicine
Year:
2012
Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Brazil
Institution/Affiliation country:
Instituto Butantan/BR
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