First mRNA flu shot approved by FDA bodes well for improving drugs of the future – though a few hurdles remain before mRNA can move beyond vaccines
From COVID-19 vaccines to Moderna’s mRNA flu vaccine, using mRNA as medicine has shown promise. But before mRNA drugs can go beyond vaccines, researchers need to identify the right diseases to treat.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved the first mRNA seasonal flu vaccine for adults aged 50 or older, marking a significant step forward in the use of mRNA technology for drug development. This achievement demonstrates the growing momentum of mRNA technology and its potential to revolutionize the treatment of various diseases.
However, there are still a few hurdles to overcome before mRNA drugs can move beyond vaccines. Two main challenges facing mRNA drugs are their short half-life and impurities that trigger immune responses. Christoph Burgstedt, a science photographer, highlights these issues in his images captured for the FDA approval process.
Messenger RNA, or mRNA, is composed of four building blocks represented by the letters A, C, G, and U. These sequences instruct the cell's machinery to produce specific proteins. In the case of mRNA drugs, the mRNA molecules are encapsulated within lipid nanoparticles, or LNPs, which protect the mRNA from degradation and aid in its delivery into target cells. Once inside the cells, the mRNA guides the production of the desired therapeutic protein.
The development of mRNA drugs offers numerous advantages over traditional drugs. They are highly programmable, allowing researchers to create hundreds of pounds of mRNA from readily available DNA templates. This flexibility makes it simple to produce different mRNA drugs by altering the corresponding DNA templates. Moreover, mRNA drugs produced through the same methods exhibit similar properties, such as tissue delivery, immune response activation, and degradation rates.
This predictability reduces development risks and costs, making mRNA drugs a promising avenue for treating various diseases.
Despite these advantages, there are certain limitations that need to be addressed. As a biochemist and researcher at UMass Chan Medical School, my work focuses on developing better methods for using mRNA as a drug. By understanding how mRNA-based drugs interact with the immune system and how they are degraded in human cells, we can create safer, more durable, and effective treatments for a wide range of diseases.
One key property of mRNA drugs is their short half-life in cells, which is about one day. This characteristic is particularly well-suited for treatments that do not require long-term presence in the body, such as vaccines. Vaccines provide long-term protection against diseases after a brief exposure to the drug, minimizing side effects while effectively stimulating the immune system.
Another crucial feature of mRNA drugs is their ability to stimulate the immune system. However, this strength can also be a drawback when treating diseases other than vaccines, as it may lead to serious side effects. To mitigate this issue, researchers have developed techniques to modify mRNA's building blocks, such as replacing uridine with pseudouridine or N1-methylpseudouridine.
These modifications help prevent unwanted immune responses while still allowing the therapeutic mRNA to direct the production of the target protein.
Written by urgent.news from The Conversation's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
