Once reserved for tribal patterns, tiny butterflies and blurry dedications to "MOM," tattooing could be the next wave in immunization technology thanks to German researchers at Heidelberg's Cancer Research Center.Off-the-shelf tattoo guns with only slight modifications have been found to be effective ways of delivering DNA vaccines for diseases such as influenza and HIV to the body. DNA vaccines, which have been under development for years, have never been viable due to limitations in delivery methods.
The DNA tattoo would work much like a normal tattoo, introducing the gene to the epidermal and dermal layers of the skin. Though, also like a tattoo, the procedure would come with a bit of pain as the skin hemorrhages, swells and eventually regenerates, a key to the body creating the desired immune response.
Bob Belshe, director of the Center for Vaccine Development at Saint Louis University explained the DNA vaccination process in an interview with Wired Magazine. He explained that once circular DNA structures called plasmids are introduced to a patient's body, the plasmids begin to introduce proteins to cells, generating the immune response. DNA vaccines produce more complete immune responses because of their increased production of killer T cells, which are important in controlling some types of infections.
Despite technological advances, Belshe warned that the DNA vaccines themselves could take years, even decades before they are viable, saying, "It's an exciting technology with a ways to go."
h