Authors from the VA North Texas Health Care System Neurology Section and the Department of Neurology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas have highlighted the potential benefits for DNA-based vaccine administration in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).
In a Perspective article published in the March issue of Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics, the authors draw attention to some recent promising observations and evaluate the potential for DNA vaccination in MS*.
Typically, DNA vaccines are composed of a bacterial plasmid that encodes a protein of specific interest behind a strong promoter (a DNA nucleotide sequence that forms a recognition site for the enzyme required for gene expression). The use of a DNA vaccine is considered the most simple or minimal way to induce an immune response.
Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune inflammatory neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system of unknown cause. The prevalence of the disease is known to be 1.1-2.5 million cases worldwide, and the disease is diagnosed in women twice as frequently as in men. Emerging evidence from recent studies suggests that aberrant immune-regulation is an important component in the pathogenesis of MS.