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DNA vaccines: safety and efficacy issues

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Summary

DNA technology has been harnessed to produce a variety of plasmid-based vaccines designed to prevent viral, bacterial and parasitic infections. The rapid adoption and implementation of this novel vaccine strategy carries with it important safety and efficacy concerns. This review will focus on whether DNA vaccines (1) are likely to induce systemic or organ-specific autoimmune disease, (2) have the potential to induce tolerance rather than immunity, and (3) are as effective in individuals with depressed immune function as they are in healthy adults.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Section of Retroviral Immunology, Division of Viral Products, Center for Biologics Research and Evaluation, Food and Drug Administration, Bldg 29A Rm 3 D 10 HFM 454, 20892, Bethesda, MD, USA

    Dennis M. Klinman, Mitsuhiro Takeno, Motohide Ichino, Mili Gu, Galina Yamshchikov, Gil Mor & Jacqueline Conover

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  1. Dennis M. Klinman
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  2. Mitsuhiro Takeno
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  3. Motohide Ichino
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  7. Jacqueline Conover
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Klinman, D.M., Takeno, M., Ichino, M. et al. DNA vaccines: safety and efficacy issues. Springer Semin Immunopathol 19, 245–256 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00870272

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