London: The tattoo of the future may be
good for your health rather than just your image.In Thursday’s Genetic
Vaccines and Therapy, German scientists reported that work on mice
showed tattooing was a more effective way to deliver a new generation
of experimental DNA vaccines than standard injections.
Using
fragments of DNA to stimulate an immune response is seen as a promising
way of making better vaccines for everything from flu to cancer.
“Delivery
of DNA via tattooing could be a way for a more widespread commercial
application of DNA vaccines,” said Martin Mueller of the German Cancer
Research Centre in Heidelberg.
There are currently no approved DNA vaccines on the market but
several drug companies are conducting clinical trials and investing in
the technology.
Mueller and his team tested tattooing by
vaccinating mice with a protein fragment of human papillomavirus, or
HPV – a sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer.
No ink was used, so the tattoo left no permanent mark.
They
found three doses of DNA vaccine given by tattooing produced at least
16 times higher antibody levels than three intramuscular injections.
The stronger response reflects the fact that giving a tattoo with a vibrating
needle causes a wound and inflammation.
“This
is probably what makes it work better than normal injections because
the tissue is damaged, thus affecting immune cells that then look out
for antigens,” Mueller said.
Tattoo vaccines are unlikely to be
for everyone. But they could be valuable for delivering certain
therapeutic vaccines to fight cancer or other serious conditions, where
some pain is acceptable, Mueller said.
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