New DNA-Based Vaccine Technology Shows Promise in Early Tests
The innovative approach, which mimics the structure of viruses, could potentially offer longer-lasting protection and be key to developing vaccines against tricky viruses like flu and HIV.
- Scientists have developed a new vaccine technology using a DNA delivery system that mimics the structure of viruses, which has shown promising results in tests on mice.
- The DNA in the vaccine acts as a scaffold, holding on to copies of an antigen from the virus, which allows the immune system to focus on the target antigen without being distracted by the DNA itself.
- The new DNA vaccines work differently from mRNA vaccines and are more similar to subunit vaccines that are already part of standard immunization schedules.
- This approach strongly stimulates B cells, the immune cells that create antibodies, which can persist for much longer in the body than the T cells stimulated by other types of vaccines, offering potential for longer-lasting protection.
- The researchers hope this approach could be key to developing a broad-spectrum vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 variants and other viruses that resist conventional vaccine approaches, like flu and HIV.
BNN Breaking 
IFLScience 
