DNA vaccines and prevention of infectious diseases in bovines: A review Dhama K, Chauhan RS1, Mahendran M, Tomar Simmi2, Singhal Lokesh1 Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar-243 122, (UP), INDIA. 1Division of Pathology, Centre for Animal Disease Research and Diagnosis, Portblair, A&N Island. 2Div. Animal Sciences, CARI, Portblair, A&N Island. Abstract Administration of plasmid DNA is considered a novel approach for developing effective immunoprophylactics for the control of infectious diseases in bovines. The major diseases of bovines for which the utility of DNA vaccines have been studied include brucellosis, tuberculosis, anthrax, foot and mouth disease, infectious bovine rhinotracheitis and bovine viral diarrhea. Research is in experimental stages for development of nucleic acid vaccines to counter many protozoan and rickettsial diseases also. The potential of DNA vaccines to overcome the maternal immunity in neonates, non-requirement of cold chain and their ability to generate vaccines that could differentiate infected from vaccinated animals, has heightened the prospects. Superior ability to induce cell mediated immune response has caught the attention of researchers involved in animal disease prevention. However, still there are many areas that need clarity and focused research for assessing the true immunogenic potential of DNA vaccines. Introduction of a variety of cytokines via recombinant DNA technology and the use of different immunomodulators and cationic lipids have shown good promise. Recently, efforts are being made to modulate antigen presenting cells so as to make the antigen presentation, a more efficacious one. The nucleic acid vaccines, having merits of being relatively stable, much safer and cost effective, are expected in near future to outplay the conventional vaccine methodologies that are commonly used to control bacterial and viral pathogens of bovines. In this review, the authors highlight the features of DNA vaccines, their utility and the prospects regarding use as an effective vaccination strategy for preventing infectious diseases of bovines. Top Keywords DNA vaccines, bovines, cattle, immunoprophylaxis, new generation vaccines, recombinant vaccines. Top |