Bacteriophages as a vaccine delivery system

Cepiva, ki so trenutno na trgu, imajo kar nekaj slabosti, zato se iščejo nove alternative, s katerimi bi cepiva izboljšali. Pri nekaterih cepivih bi npr. izboljšali dostavni sistem. Dobro alternativo predstavljajo bakteriofagi, ki delujejo kot dostavni sistemi antigenov. Antigene lahko izpostavijo na svoji površini ali pa v svojem genomu nosijo zapis za specifičen antigen. Obstajajo tudi hibridna bakteriofagna cepiva, ki predstavljajo kombinacijo obeh možnosti. Cilj vseh treh pristopov je, da bakteriofagi prenesejo antigen ali gen za antigen do antigen predstavitvenih celic in tako sprožijo celični in humoralni imunski odziv. Bakteriofagi so pritegnili pozornost predvsem zaradi svojih naravnih lastnosti, da v okviru imunskega odziva delujejo tudi kot adjuvansi. Tovrstna cepiva so tudi izredno stabilna, obstojna pri širokem območju pH-ja in pri visokih temperaturah, njihova proizvodnja pa je ekonomsko upravičena. Cepiva je mogoče uporabljati za preprečevanje nalezljivih bolezni in za zdravljenje raka. V te namene se uporabljajo različni bakteriofagi, na primer: filamentozni fag, T4 fag, T7 fag, λ fag, MS2 fag in Qß fag.The vaccines currently on the market have several drawbacks, which is why new alternatives are being sought to improve them. For example, the delivery system of some vaccines could be improved. Bacteriophages, which act as antigen delivery systems, represent a good alternative. They can either present antigens on their surface or carry the genetic information for a specific antigen within their genome. There also exist hybrid bacteriophage vaccines that combine both approaches. The goal of all three approaches is for bacteriophages to transfer the antigen or gene for antigen to antigen presenting cells, thereby triggering a cellular and humoral immune response. Bacteriophages have attracted attention primarily due to their natural ability to act as an adjuvant within the immune response. Such vaccines are also highly stable, resistant to a wide range of pH levels and high temperatures. Additionally, their production is economically justified. These vaccines can be used for preventing infectious diseases and treating cancer. Various bacteriophages are used for these purposes, including filamentous phage, T4 phage, T7 phage, λ phage, MS2 phage and Qß phage