Evaluation of a Novel Non-Penetrating Electrode for Use in DNA Vaccination

Abstract

Current progress in the development of vaccines has decreased the incidence of fatal and non-fatal infections and increased longevity. However, new technologies need to be developed to combat an emerging generation of infectious diseases. DNA vaccination has been demonstrated to have great potential for use with a wide variety of diseases. Alone, this technology does not generate a significant immune response for vaccination, but combined with delivery by electroporation (EP), can enhance plasmid expression and immunity. Most EP systems, while effective, can be invasive and painful making them less desirable for use in vaccination. Our lab recently developed a non-invasive electrode known as the multi-electrode array (MEA), which lies flat on the surface of the skin without penetrating the tissue. In this study we evaluated the MEA for its use in DNA vaccination using Hepatitis B virus as the infectious model. We utilized the guinea pig model because their skin is similar in thickness and morphology to humans. The plasmid encoding Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) was delivered intradermally with the MEA to guinea pig skin. The results show increased protein expression resulting from plasmid delivery using the MEA as compared to injection alone. Within 48 hours of treatment, there was an influx of cellular infiltrate in experimental groups. Humoral responses were also increased significantly in both duration and intensity as compared to injection only groups. While this electrode requires further study, our results suggest that the MEA has potential for use in electrically mediated intradermal DNA vaccination.

Improved immunogenicity and protective efficacy of a divalent DNA vaccine encoding Brucella L7/L12-truncated Omp31 fusion protein by a DNA priming and protein boosting regimen

“…The dermal tissue has advantages of owning large population of resident APCs (Langerhans cells and dermal dendritic cells) that are able to facilitate the induction of vaccine-specific immune responses. Moreover, turnover of cells is more rapid in the skin than in muscle which can lead to faster removal of DNA vaccine from the site of injection (Bodles-Brakhop et al, 2009;Hallengard et al, 2011;Donate et al, 2011).…”

Optimization of Electroporation-Enhanced Intradermal Delivery of DNA Vaccine Using a Minimally Invasive Surface Device

“…Examples of noninvasive or surface electrodes are devices such as caliper-type electrodes (Zhang et al, 1996) and the four-plate electrode (4PE; Heller et al, 2007) platform, which use plates as electrodes. The multielectrode array (MEA) (Heller et al, 2010;Donate et al, 2011) and meander electrodes which consist of an array of interweaving electrode fingers of alternating polarity (Zhang et al, 2002), are additional examples. In general, these platforms make direct contact with the skin surface without rupturing the stratum cornea of the skin, and require relatively high electrical field strength for efficient transfection.…”

A multi-head intradermal electroporation device allows for tailored and increased dose DNA vaccine delivery to the skin

“…Multiple examples of published literature demonstrate the ability of the ID-EP platform to elicit robust immune responses in a spectrum of animal models 30,[34][35][36][37][38][39] and in the clinic. 28 The use of combination vaccine strategies has a number of clinical benefits.…”