杏吧原创

A NOVEL kind of DNA 鈥渧accine鈥� could protect people against everything from
snake bites to HIV.

Conventional DNA vaccines contain genes that code for proteins resembling
those of viruses or bacteria. These proteins trigger the production of
antibodies that bind to the pathogens. But the scale of the immune response can
be disappointing.

So Niels Lorenzen of the Danish Veterinary Laboratory in Aarhus and his
colleagues tried using a DNA vaccine that directly triggers the production of
antibodies. They injected trout with the genes for antibodies against viral
haemorrhagic septicaemia virus. This protected the fish from infection with the
virus (Nature Biotechnology, vol 18, p 1177).

In its current form, the fish vaccine is not practical because each trout has
to be injected individually. However, the research shows that the approach
works.