![]() ![]() Humoral (B cell) immunity produces antibodies while cellular (T cell) immunity helps to detect infected cells. mRNA vaccines have been shown to stimulate both arms of the adaptive immune response, which are important for establishing protection. This process is essentially a training exercise for your immune system, and it normally takes a few weeks for your adaptive immunity to mature and synchronize. Once in the cytoplasm, the mRNA is translated into the antigen which triggers an immune response. The lipid particle has two main functions: it protects the mRNA from degradation and helps deliver it into the cell. These antigen-encoding mRNA molecules are incorporated into very small particles made primarily of lipids (fats). In the case of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines, sequences coding for the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein or the receptor-binding domain have been used. Typically, the mRNA codes for a known viral antigen. Understanding how synthetic RNA is recognized in cells has proven essential in developing effective vaccines. The mRNA vaccines we are familiar with today have benefited from many years of research, design and optimisation. This not only future-proofs existing mRNA production facilities but could prove vital for rapid vaccine responses to new pandemics and emerging disease outbreaks. By replacing the DNA code, facilities can easily switch from producing one kind of mRNA vaccine to another. Importantly, as in vitro transcription is cell-free, the manufacturing pipeline for synthetic mRNAs is flexible and new vaccines or therapies can be streamlined into existing facilities. It took only 25 days to manufacture a clinical batch of Moderna's lipid nanoparticle mRNA vaccine candidate, which in March 2020 became the first COVID-19 vaccine to enter human clinical trials. It has certain manufacturing advantages over other vaccine technologies-rapid turnaround times and reduced biological safety risks, for example. So it is safe for the development of vaccines and therapies.Ī major advantage of in vitro transcription is that it does not require cells to produce the mRNA. mRNA is short-lived and does not change the cell's DNA. Once translated, the antigen triggers an immune response to help confer protection against the virus. In the case of vaccines, the mRNA codes for a piece of a viral protein known as an antigen. In principle, the process can be used to generate synthetic mRNA that codes for any protein of interest. When in vitro transcribed mRNA is introduced into a cell, it is 'read' by the cell's protein production machinery in a similar manner to how natural mRNA functions. When mixed together, the polymerase reads the strand of DNA and converts the code into a strand of mRNA, by linking different nucleotides together in the correct order. This requires an enzyme (called RNA polymerase) and nucleotides (the molecules that are the building blocks of DNA and RNA). The process, known as in-vitro transcription, can generate many mRNA molecules from a strand of DNA in a test tube. Nearly 40 years ago scientists found that they could mimic transcription and produce synthetic mRNA without a cell. ![]() The result is an important protein, such as an enzyme, antibody, hormone, or structural component of the cell. The mRNA is then transported into the cytoplasm (the solution contained in the cell) where the message is 'read' and translated by the cell's protein production machinery. The code is copied from a strand of DNA in the nucleus of the cell, in a process called transcription. These molecules carry unique codes that tell our cells which proteins to make and when to make them. As the name implies, mRNA acts as an important messenger in human cells. There are many types of RNA, each with distinct functions. Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a natural molecule found in all our cells. As a result, mRNA technologies have been catapulted into the public spotlight. Decades of research and clinical development into synthetic mRNA platforms for cancer treatments and vaccines for infectious diseases like influenza, malaria, and rabies, finally paid off as both Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech's COVID-19 mRNA vaccines received emergency use authorisation. ![]() This is where messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines, which are classified as a next-generation technology, gained prominence. The COVID-19 pandemic created an urgent need for an effective vaccine.
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