Journal article
Nucleic acid vaccines: innovations, efficacy, and applications in at-risk populations
Frontiers in immunology, v 16, 1584876
14 May 2025
PMID: 40438110
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
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.
Metrics
5 Record Views
Details
- Title
- Nucleic acid vaccines: innovations, efficacy, and applications in at-risk populations
- Creators
- Emily N. Konopka - Drexel UniversityArden O. Edgerton - Drexel UniversityMichele A. Kutzler - Drexel University
- Publication Details
- Frontiers in immunology, v 16, 1584876
- Publisher
- Frontiers Media
- Number of pages
- 21
- Grant note
- PA Department of Community & Economic Development COVID AID, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES)W.W. Smith Charitable Trust FoundationPennsylvania Department of Health CURE programMerck & Co., Investigator Studies Program
The author(s) declare that financial support was received for the research and/or publication of this article. This work was funded by the PA Department of Community & Economic Development COVID AID, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) act to MK; the W.W. Smith Charitable Trust Foundation award to MK; The Pennsylvania Department of Health CURE program; and Merck & Co., Investigator Studies Program.
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Microbiology and Immunology; Infectious Diseases (and HIV Medicine)
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:001497188300001
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-105006748460
- Other Identifier
- 991022053486504721
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
This publication has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:
InCites Highlights
Data related to this publication, from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool:
- Web of Science research areas
- Immunology