Strategies for enhancing DNA vaccine potency by targeting antigen-presenting cells

The potency of DNA vaccines to stimulate the immune response, especially the T-cell immune response against viral infections and tumors, depends mainly on the ability of antigen-presenting cells to process and present DNA-encoded antigens. Targeting the specific antigen to antigen-presenting cells is believed to be a crucial step for eliciting the T-cell response. Many strategies for enhancing DNA vaccine potency by targeting antigen-presenting cells have been developed. In this article, we generally introduce a T cell immune system and review some strategies which have been recently developed for enhancing DNA vaccine potency.