A brief review on DNA vaccines in the era of COVID-19

Maryam Shafaati; Massoud Saidijam; Meysam Soleimani; Fereshte Hazrati; Rasoul Mirzaei; Bagher Amirheidari; Hamid Tanzadehpanah; Sajad Karampoor; Sima Kazemi; Bahram Yavari; Hanie Mahaki; Mohsen Safaei; Fatemeh Rahbarizadeh; Pouria Samadi; Yaghoub Ahmadyousefi

doi:10.2217/fvl-2021-0170

A brief review on DNA vaccines in the era of COVID-19

Future Virol. 2021 Nov:10.2217/fvl-2021-0170. doi: 10.2217/fvl-2021-0170. Epub 2021 Nov 26.

Authors

Maryam Shafaati¹, Massoud Saidijam^{2

3}, Meysam Soleimani⁴, Fereshte Hazrati⁴, Rasoul Mirzaei⁵, Bagher Amirheidari^{6

7}, Hamid Tanzadehpanah^{2

3}, Sajad Karampoor⁸, Sima Kazemi⁵, Bahram Yavari^{2

3}, Hanie Mahaki⁹, Mohsen Safaei¹⁰, Fatemeh Rahbarizadeh¹¹, Pouria Samadi^{2

3}, Yaghoub Ahmadyousefi^{2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Sciences, Jahrom Branch, Islamic Azad University, Jahrom, Iran.
² Department of Medical Biotechnology, School of Advanced Medical Sciences & Technologies, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran.
³ Research Center for Molecular Medicine, School of Medicine, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran.
⁴ Department of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Pharmacy, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran.
⁵ Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran.
⁶ Department of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
⁷ Extremophile and Productive Microorganisms Research Center, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
⁸ Department of Virology, School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
⁹ Vascular & Endovascular Surgery Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
¹⁰ Department of Medical Biotechnology, School of Advanced Technologies, Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Shahrekord, Iran.
¹¹ Department of Medical Biotechnology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

This article provides a brief overview of DNA vaccines. First, the basic DNA vaccine design strategies are described, then specific issues related to the industrial production of DNA vaccines are discussed, including the production and purification of DNA products such as plasmid DNA, minicircle DNA, minimalistic, immunologically defined gene expression (MIDGE) and Doggybone™. The use of adjuvants to enhance the immunogenicity of DNA vaccines is then discussed. In addition, different delivery routes and several physical and chemical methods to increase the efficacy of DNA delivery into cells are explained. Recent preclinical and clinical trials of DNA vaccines for COVID-19 are then summarized. Lastly, the advantages and obstacles of DNA vaccines are discussed.

Keywords: COVID-19; DNA; DNA vaccines; SARS-CoV-2; nucleic acid vaccines; vaccines.

Publication types

Review