Viral Protein Helps Self-Amplifying RNA Overcome Cellular Defenses
Adding a viral protein, NoV B2, helped self-amplifying RNA overcome cellular defenses and produce more target protein without diminishing immune stimulation, potentially enabling future vaccines to use lower doses. The post Viral Protein Helps Self-Amplifying RNA Overcome Cellular Defenses appeared first on GEN - Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News .
A new study from Queen Mary University of London reveals a method to bypass cells' natural defenses against self-amplifying RNA (saRNA) vaccines. By adding a viral protein called NoV B2, the research demonstrates that saRNA's ability to stimulate the immune system remains intact while allowing it to produce more of the intended protein.
The paper, titled "Tuning intracellular immunity by Nodamura virus B2 protein enhances self-amplifying RNA activity," explains that the addition of NoV B2 reduces the extent to which cells restrict saRNA, leading to greater protein production in both stem cells and regular cells. This breakthrough addresses a significant challenge with saRNA vaccines that have hindered their use in gene therapies, cancer immunotherapies, and protein replacement therapies.
saRNA vaccines have gained attention since the Covid-19 pandemic, with scientists exploring their potential for developing vaccines and therapies that offer longer-lasting protection at lower doses, while remaining safe and affordable. However, saRNA's self-replication process generates double-stranded RNA that triggers cells' anti-virus defenses, making it less stable, less replicable, and less effective at instructing cells to produce the protein that trains the immune system.
Lead author Pierre Maillard, PhD, a senior lecturer in antiviral immunity at Queen Mary University of London, states that the findings present a strategy to overcome a fundamental barrier limiting saRNA vaccines. If successful in vivo, this development could open new opportunities for vaccine design as well as gene therapies and cancer treatment.
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