Strategy to improve vaccines

2001/10/22 Agirre Ruiz de Arkaute, Aitziber - Elhuyar Zientzia

• Osasuna
• Medikuntza

At this meeting, the latest strategies in which we are working have been presented, such as the technique being done in recent years: the use of DNA fragments to improve the efficacy of vaccines. Researcher Dennis Klinman has indicated that they are used to improve the effectiveness of vaccines against bacteria, viruses and other parasites.

But why does DNA? All living beings have genetic information from the same base. However, there are changes between the living. The DNA of bacteria, for example, has a clear difference with the DNA of vertebrates. These create unique structures called CpG Centers. This does not appear in the case of vertebrates, so vertebrates know CpG structures as strange; finding these unique structures in the body, danger comes! In response, the body's immune system will be launched and will be shown prepared against pathogens.

Taking advantage of this fact, researchers have synthesized small fragments of DNA that can mimic CpG structures. These DNA do not themselves produce a sufficient immune response to remove the parasite, but they can be used as vaccine aids.

Some groups begin to use it as companions of the hepatitis B vaccine. In addition to viruses, Klinman has claimed that it can be used to protect many other cytotoxic agents and has advocated, among other things, its use in the United States to improve the anthrax bacillus vaccine.