Editor’s Pick: A team of synthetic biologists at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) recently discovered a method that can increase protein production efficiency by 10-fold for synthetic mRNA, which This means that with fewer mRNA doses, the efficacy of mRNA vaccines and drugs used to treat cancer, Covid-19 or other genetic diseases can be greatly improved.
The optimized mRNA tail can protect it from immediate degradation, and can stay in the cell for a longer time, increasing protein production efficiency up to 10 times.
A team of synthetic biologists at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has recently discovered a method that can increase the efficiency of protein This means that with fewer mRNA doses, the efficacy of mRNA vaccines and drugs used to treat cancer, Covid-19 or other genetic diseases can be greatly improved.
Messenger RNA can be synthesized to instruct our cells to make any kind of protein, such as antigens, enzymes, and hormones, which are necessary to fight infection and regulate body functions, Messenger RNA is thus arguably the first choice for vaccines and treatments for many different diseases. However, mRNA drugs and vaccines often require high doses and repeated injections in order to produce sufficient quantities of the protein in the body, so improving the effectiveness of mRNA—for example by increasing its protein production efficiency—is a hot topic for scientists as we Your immune system works better with more specific antibodies.
Now, a research team led by Kwong Yi, an assistant professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at HKUST, has discovered a method. After engineering different mRNA tail sequences, Professor Kuang’s team eventually found that the optimized sequence produced 3 to 10 times more protein than the unoptimized tail sequence, which is commonly used to synthesize mRNA in human cells and mice . The duration of protein production was also doubled.
This new technology will not only reduce the number and number of injections needed for mRNA drugs and vaccines, but it may also reduce the cost of treatment. It can also be used with other mRNA enhancement technologies to synergistically boost protein production.
Professor Kuang Yi pointed out: “Increasing the protein yield of synthetic mRNA is generally beneficial to all mRNA drugs and vaccines.” “In collaboration with Sun Yat-sen University, Our team is now exploring the use of the optimized tail for mRNA cancer vaccines in animals. We also look forward to working with pharmaceutical companies to move this invention into the development pipeline of mRNA therapeutics and vaccines for the benefit of society.”
In recent years, thanks to the effectiveness of messenger RNA drugs and vaccines in protecting us from severe illness from certain infectious diseases such as COVID-19, and in the treatment of cancer They have received a lot of attention for their great potential in chronic diseases such as An earlier study showed that the global mRNA therapeutics market size was US$33.99 billion last year and is expected to expand further in the next decade.
Source: Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Disclaimer: Kang Jiahao is committed to the dissemination of health knowledge, The content is edited based on public information, and the copyright belongs to the original author; if there is any infringement, please leave a message online to delete it. The purpose of the article is to introduce the progress of health science, and it cannot be used as a treatment plan; if you need accurate health guidance, please go to a regular hospital for diagnosis and treatment.