{"id":6965,"date":"2022-01-02T13:12:14","date_gmt":"2022-01-02T13:12:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/polscienceweb.com\/?p=6965"},"modified":"2022-01-02T13:18:37","modified_gmt":"2022-01-02T13:18:37","slug":"covid-19-dna-vaccine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/polscienceweb.com\/index.php\/covid-19-dna-vaccine\/","title":{"rendered":"What you must know about the world’s first DNA vaccine?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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ZyCoV-D is the world’s first DNA vaccine approved for human use.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

COVID-19 pandemic has been nothing but persistent, and the waves of infection along with new variants continue to take away precious lives and change the way we live. Urgent vaccine development has been a priority for all nations. It is interesting to witness the fast-paced development of COVID-19 vaccines, which were available in just under a year, whereas traditional vaccines would have taken at least 10-15 years for approval. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Traditional vaccines consist of weak or inactive forms of viruses. Even though they are immunogenic, they are challenging to produce and require extensive safety testing. The new generation vaccines are mRNA based, viral vector and DNA based vaccines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All the leading COVID-19 vaccines so far use none of these traditional methods and instead utilize new ways to deliver. The new method is based on a simple plug-and-play technology that allows new vaccines against viruses to be generated quickly i.e. mRNA vaccine, viral vector and DNA vaccine fall under this new technique of vaccine development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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BioNTech-Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are mRNA-based vaccines; AstraZeneca vaccine uses a harmless, weakened virus (called a viral vector) that contains the genetic code for the coronavirus spike protein. ZyCoV-D is a DNA-based vaccine against COVID-19. ZyCoV-D is unique because it is also the world’s first DNA-based vaccine<\/strong> approved for human use<\/strong>, which also happens to be against COVID-19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is a DNA vaccine?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A DNA vaccine comprises a small unit of DNA molecule (called a plasmid) that stores the information for the virus protein against which the immune response is generated. The plasmid, through vaccination, enters the nucleus (part of the cell that contains all the genetic information, DNA) of multiple immune cells of our body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After gaining entry into the nucleus, the plasmid DNA transforms into mRNA. mRNA travels to the outside of the nucleus into the cytoplasm (main body of the cell), where it translates to make the spike protein antigen. The spike protein antigen is considered foreign by our body, which leads to a series of events that eventually leads to activation of our immune response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Cell diagram<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The immune response stimulates all components of the immune system, including humoral response (such as the production of antibodies) and cellular response (such as activation of T cells). T cells (also called T lymphocytes) roles include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n