Live Attenuated Bacterial Vectors as Vehicles for DNA Vaccine Delivery: A Mini Review

DNA vaccines are third-generation vaccines composed of plasmids that encode vaccine antigens. Their advantages include fast development, safety, stability, and cost effectiveness, which make them an attractive vaccine platform for genetic and infectious diseases. However, the low transfection efficiency of DNA vaccines results in poor performance in both larger animals and humans, thereby limiting their clinical use. To overcome this issue, live attenuated bacterial vector (LABV) has been proposed as a DNA delivery vehicle. LABV is known to improve DNA vaccine transfection efficiency, thus enhancing the immune response. This article highlights recent advancements in the development of LABV DNA vaccines, the design of shuttle plasmids and adjuvants, and the potential applications of LABV candidates.