Q.What are DNA vaccines?

Step 1. Place DNA vaccines in context: they are a form of genetic immunisation that came into use around 1990, distinct from subunit and attenuated recombinant vaccines. Step 2. Describe their construction: a DNA vaccine consists of a gene encoding an antigenic protein, inserted onto a plasmid vector. Step 3. Describe how they act: this plasmid is incorporated into cells of the target animal; the DNA instructs those cells to manufacture antigenic molecules, which are then displayed on the cell surface, and this display evokes an antibody response against the free-floating antigen secreted by the cells. Step 4. State the key safety property: because the DNA vaccine contains only copies of a few of the pathogen's genes (not the whole organism), it cannot cause the disease it is protecting against. Step 5. State the practical advant …

Describe the DNA vaccine's structure (plasmid + antigen gene), its mechanism of action inside target …

• Confusing a DNA vaccine (delivers a gene, made in vivo) with a subunit vaccine (delivers the purified protein directly). …