Single-stranded DNA as Transient Expression Vector
Nucleic acid-based vaccines, and particularly mRNA vaccines, have gained significant popularity in recent years, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. While mRNA vaccines require cold storage, have transient stability, and incur high costs, DNA vaccines risk toxicity and genomic integration.
As transient gene expression vector or DNA vaccines, single-stranded DNA has a potential to achieve robust and durable gene expression while maintaining overall better safety profiles than viral vectors, plasmid or other double-stranded DNA vectors.
Sources
1. J. A. Kretzmann, A. Liedl, A. Monferrer, V. Mykhailiuk, S. Beerkens, and H. Dietz, “Gene-encoding DNA origami for mammalian cell expression,” Nat Commun, vol. 14, no. 1, Dec. 2023, doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-36601-1.
2. A. Liedl, J. Grießing, J. A. Kretzmann, and H. Dietz, “Active Nuclear Import of Mammalian Cell-Expressible DNA Origami,” J Am Chem Soc, vol. 145, no. 9, pp. 4946–4950, Mar. 2023, doi: 10.1021/jacs.2c12733.
3. L. Tang et al., “Circular single-stranded DNA as switchable vector for gene expression in mammalian cells,” Nat Commun, vol. 14, no. 1, Dec. 2023, doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-42437-6.
