Viral vector vaccine

[7][17] In order to transfer a nucleic acid coding for a specific protein to a cell, the vaccines employ a variant of a virus as its vector.

[7] In order to be widely accepted and approved for medical use, the development of viral vector vaccines requires a high biological safety level.

[19] The immunogenicity is further enhanced through intrinsic vector motifs that stimulate the innate immunity pathways,[20][21][22] so the use of an adjuvant is unnecessary.

[5] Replicating vectors imitate natural infection, which stimulates the release of cytokines and co-stimulatory molecules that produce a strong adjuvant effect.

[5] Additionally, viral vectors can be produced in high quantities at relatively low costs, which enables use in low-income countries.

[24] Adenovirus vectors have the advantage of high transduction efficiency, transgene expression, and broad viral tropism, and can infect both dividing and non-dividing cells.

[29] These studies include numerous strategies such as designing alternative Adenovirus serotypes, diversifying routes of immunization, and using prime-boost procedures.

[43] The VSV genome encodes for nucleocapsid, phosphoprotein, matrix, glycoprotein, and an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase proteins.

[47] The gene for the natural VSV envelope glycoprotein is replaced with that from the Kikwit 1995 Zaire strain Ebola virus.

[4] The introduction of alternate routes for immunization of viral vector vaccines can induce mucosal immunology at the site of administration, thereby limiting respiratory or gastrointestinal infections.