Nucleic acid vaccines: innovations, efficacy, and applications in at-risk populations
For more than two centuries, the field of vaccine development has progressed through the adaptation of novel platforms in parallel with technological developments. Building off the advantages and shortcomings of first and second-generation vaccine platforms, the advent of third-generation nucleic ac...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-05-01
|
| Series: | Frontiers in Immunology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2025.1584876/full |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849727613057105920 |
|---|---|
| author | Emily N. Konopka Emily N. Konopka Arden O. Edgerton Arden O. Edgerton Michele A. Kutzler Michele A. Kutzler |
| author_facet | Emily N. Konopka Emily N. Konopka Arden O. Edgerton Arden O. Edgerton Michele A. Kutzler Michele A. Kutzler |
| author_sort | Emily N. Konopka |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | For more than two centuries, the field of vaccine development has progressed through the adaptation of novel platforms in parallel with technological developments. Building off the advantages and shortcomings of first and second-generation vaccine platforms, the advent of third-generation nucleic acid vaccines has enabled new approaches to tackle emerging infectious diseases, cancers, and pathogens where vaccines remain unavailable. Unlike traditional vaccine platforms, nucleic acid vaccines offer several new advantages, including their lower cost and rapid production, which was widely demonstrated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Beyond production, DNA and mRNA vaccines can elicit unique and targeted responses through specialized design and delivery approaches. Considering the growth of nucleic acid vaccine research over the past two decades, the evaluation of their efficacy in at-risk populations is paramount for refining and improving vaccine design. Importantly, the aging population represents a significant portion of individuals highly susceptible to infection and disease. This review seeks to outline the major impairments in vaccine-induced responses due to aging that may be targeted for improvement with design and delivery components encompassing mRNA and DNA vaccine formulations. Results of pre-clinical and clinical applications of these vaccines in aged animal models and humans will also be evaluated to outline current successes and limitations observed in these platforms. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-5174c72e83a84a2eb39f95656a309d15 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1664-3224 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Immunology |
| spelling | doaj-art-5174c72e83a84a2eb39f95656a309d152025-08-20T03:09:48ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Immunology1664-32242025-05-011610.3389/fimmu.2025.15848761584876Nucleic acid vaccines: innovations, efficacy, and applications in at-risk populationsEmily N. Konopka0Emily N. Konopka1Arden O. Edgerton2Arden O. Edgerton3Michele A. Kutzler4Michele A. Kutzler5Drexel University College of Medicine, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Philadelphia, PA, United StatesDrexel University College of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases and HIV Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, United StatesDrexel University College of Medicine, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Philadelphia, PA, United StatesDrexel University College of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases and HIV Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, United StatesDrexel University College of Medicine, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Philadelphia, PA, United StatesDrexel University College of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases and HIV Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, United StatesFor more than two centuries, the field of vaccine development has progressed through the adaptation of novel platforms in parallel with technological developments. Building off the advantages and shortcomings of first and second-generation vaccine platforms, the advent of third-generation nucleic acid vaccines has enabled new approaches to tackle emerging infectious diseases, cancers, and pathogens where vaccines remain unavailable. Unlike traditional vaccine platforms, nucleic acid vaccines offer several new advantages, including their lower cost and rapid production, which was widely demonstrated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Beyond production, DNA and mRNA vaccines can elicit unique and targeted responses through specialized design and delivery approaches. Considering the growth of nucleic acid vaccine research over the past two decades, the evaluation of their efficacy in at-risk populations is paramount for refining and improving vaccine design. Importantly, the aging population represents a significant portion of individuals highly susceptible to infection and disease. This review seeks to outline the major impairments in vaccine-induced responses due to aging that may be targeted for improvement with design and delivery components encompassing mRNA and DNA vaccine formulations. Results of pre-clinical and clinical applications of these vaccines in aged animal models and humans will also be evaluated to outline current successes and limitations observed in these platforms.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2025.1584876/fullnucleic acid vaccinesmRNA vaccineDNA vaccineagingimmunosenescence |
| spellingShingle | Emily N. Konopka Emily N. Konopka Arden O. Edgerton Arden O. Edgerton Michele A. Kutzler Michele A. Kutzler Nucleic acid vaccines: innovations, efficacy, and applications in at-risk populations Frontiers in Immunology nucleic acid vaccines mRNA vaccine DNA vaccine aging immunosenescence |
| title | Nucleic acid vaccines: innovations, efficacy, and applications in at-risk populations |
| title_full | Nucleic acid vaccines: innovations, efficacy, and applications in at-risk populations |
| title_fullStr | Nucleic acid vaccines: innovations, efficacy, and applications in at-risk populations |
| title_full_unstemmed | Nucleic acid vaccines: innovations, efficacy, and applications in at-risk populations |
| title_short | Nucleic acid vaccines: innovations, efficacy, and applications in at-risk populations |
| title_sort | nucleic acid vaccines innovations efficacy and applications in at risk populations |
| topic | nucleic acid vaccines mRNA vaccine DNA vaccine aging immunosenescence |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2025.1584876/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT emilynkonopka nucleicacidvaccinesinnovationsefficacyandapplicationsinatriskpopulations AT emilynkonopka nucleicacidvaccinesinnovationsefficacyandapplicationsinatriskpopulations AT ardenoedgerton nucleicacidvaccinesinnovationsefficacyandapplicationsinatriskpopulations AT ardenoedgerton nucleicacidvaccinesinnovationsefficacyandapplicationsinatriskpopulations AT micheleakutzler nucleicacidvaccinesinnovationsefficacyandapplicationsinatriskpopulations AT micheleakutzler nucleicacidvaccinesinnovationsefficacyandapplicationsinatriskpopulations |