Development of DNA vaccines as an anti-hypertensive therapy or for anti-angiogenesis

Introduction: Vaccines are used as preventive medicine for infectious diseases worldwide; however, several recent studies have indicated the potential of therapeutic vaccines for managing Alzheimer's disease or hypertension. Areas covered: The concept and history of therapeutic vaccines for hypertension are introduced. The improvement of drug compliance associated with vaccines in hypertensive patients may assist in better control of blood pressure, leading to reduced complications. Recently, groups have attempted to develop a therapeutic vaccine against hypertension. The vaccine-induced anti-angiotensin II antibodies can efficiently ameliorate high blood pressure. DNA vaccines have also been designed via a similar strategy using a plasmid vector encoding a hepatitis B core (HBc)-angiotensin II fusion protein. The immunogenic molecule (i.e., HBc) is used to provide an antigen that supports the activation of T cells in this DNA vaccine system. The platform technology can also be applied to generate a VEGF vaccine for cancer. Expert opinion: To date, several clinical studies of DNA vaccines have been conducted, but their effectiveness has not been determined. We hope that the novel concept of DNA vaccines will contribute to promoting health and medicine in the future.