DNA-based vaccines against malaria and other diseases - from the laboratory to the clinic

The technology of DNA vaccination has facilitated a revolutionary approach to developing an effective vaccine against complex pathogens, such as the Plasmodium spp. parasites that cause malaria, for which vaccines are not yet available. Their capacity to induce the CD8C T cell dependent CTL and IFN-γ responses which have heretoforth been difficult to induce by the more conventional vaccine technologies has now been established in mice, monkeys and humans, in malaria as well as in other disease systems. Despite the fact that the first and second generation DNA vaccines on their own have not been optimal, the potential of promising immune enhancement strategies for DNA vaccination suggests that the current efforts in this field are warranted.