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Abstract
Epitope based minigenes (epigenes) have been under investigation for several years as an experimental approach to vaccination against infectious diseases. The essence of this technology is that short DNA sequences, encoding well-defined cytotoxic T-lymphocyte- (CTL), antibody- (Ab) or helper T-lymphocyte- (HTL) specific epitopes are used as immunogens. Compared to other vaccine strategies, several potential advantages are apparent. These include the increased ‘safety’ of an immunisation strategy that mimics antigen processing and presentation during natural infections, without actually causing disease, and the ‘flexibility’ in epitope selection, which allows induction and optimisation of the desired type of immunity. In addition, the ‘high immunogenicity’ of epitope based constructs relative to constructs based on whole antigenic proteins is an important factor. This paper presents and discusses recent developments in the use of minigenes or multiple epitope genes that allow vaccines to be designed. The preclinical studies available to date clearly demonstrate the great potential of this vaccine approach, in terms of both prophylaxis and therapy.