Pros and Cons
The major advantage for reverse vaccinology is finding vaccine targets quickly and efficiently. The downside is that only proteins can be targeted using this process. Normal vaccinology approaches can find other biomolecular targets such as polysaccharides.
Table 1. Comparison between Traditional and Reverse Vaccinology
| Traditional Vaccinology | Reverse Vaccinology | |
|---|---|---|
| Antigens available | 10-25 identified by biochemical or genetic tools. | Virtually all antigens encoded by the genome are available. |
| Property of antigens | The most abundant antigens, the most immunogenic during disease, only from cultivable microorganisms. | All antigens are available, even if not highly immunogenic during disease. Antigens from noncultivable microorganisms can be identified. |
| Immunology of the antigens | Highly immunogenic antigens, often variable in sequence, because of immune selective pressure. Some may contain domains mimicking self-antigens and may induce autoimmunity. | The most conserved protective antigens can be identified. Usually these are not the most immunogenic during infection. The novel antigens are screened against the human genome, and antigens with homology to self-antigens are removed upfront |
| Polysaccharide antigens | A major target of traditional bacterial vaccines. | Cannot be identified by reverse vaccinology; however, operons coding for the biosynthesis of polysaccharides can be identified. This can lead to discovery of novel carbohydrate antigens. |
| T cell epitopes | Known epitopes limited to the known antigens. | Virtually every single T cell epitope is available. Screening of the total T cell immunity can be done by overlapping peptides. |
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