Two mRNA vaccines, which received emergency authorization in late 2020, have proven critical in the fight against Covid-19. These vaccines, the first of their kind, were the culmination of decades of research on RNA. Delivered as strands of mRNA that encode a viral protein, the vaccines enter cells and begin producing proteins, allowing the immune system to recognize the virus if encountered later. Following the success of Covid-19 vaccines, researchers hope that mRNA vaccines and therapies will prove useful against many other diseases.
Daniel Anderson, a professor of chemical engineering at MIT and a member of MITs Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research and Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, has spent many years working on ways to package and deliver mRNA. Anderson, who recently co-authored a recent Nature Biotechnology review on mRNA therapies, answered some questions from MIT News on the progress of this technology.
Q: What are some of the advantages of RNA vaccines, and how were they developed so rapidly in response to the Covid-19 pandemic?
A: The beauty of RNA vaccines is that once an effective nanoparticle delivery system has been developed, new vaccines targeting new diseases can be rapidly created. For example, Moderna was able to build an optimized mRNA construct a single day after the SARS-CoV-2 DNA sequence was made public, and began dosing patients only weeks later. Conventional vaccine technology is much more slow to develop, and relies on bulk production of a vaccine using mammalian cells in a bioreactor or chicken eggs, while mRNA vaccines turn into the final product only once inside a patients cells. In some ways, mRNA vaccines are using the human body as its own vaccine production facility.
We were lucky that researchers and companies had been working for decades on RNA and nanoparticles, and specifically on the use of mRNA for vaccines for many years. Just as one example, the first RNA nanoparticle drug, Onpattro, was FDA-approved in 2018. While this drug is designed to affect the liver of patients, and has small RNA, not mRNA, the lessons learned in the creation of this drug along with all of the other work helped scientists advance the mRNA vaccines we benefit from today.
Q: What lessons has the development of the Covid-19 vaccines yielded that could help researchers with development of future RNA vaccines?What are some of the challenges that still need to be addressed?
A: There is no question that a lot of important information about Covid-19 vaccines has been learned in the last few years. Today, billions of doses of mRNA vaccines have been given to patients, providing important information about their function, safety, and manufacturing. We have learned that these drugs can be both safe and effective and, importantly, that it is possible to rapidly create a new vaccine to an emergent pathogen. We have also recognized challenges with mRNA vaccines, such as the fact that they must be kept frozen, some at very low temperatures. In the near future I expect we will see mRNA vaccines with improved stability and shelf-life.
Q: What are some examples of diseases where RNA vaccines and other mRNA therapeutics could prove valuable in the future?
A: We are at the beginning of what I believe will be a revolution in medicine. In the near term we will see new mRNA vaccines to new strains of the coronavirus, as well as vaccines against other important diseases like influenza. I am also optimistic that we will see mRNA vaccines and mRNA therapies for diseases where we really dont have solutions, such as HIV and some types of cancer. Longer term, I expect that mRNA therapies will play an important role in certain genetic diseases such as cystic fibrosis, where mRNA delivered to the lung could allow lung cells to function more normally. Finally I am excited by the progress in genome editing, and the potential for mRNA nanoparticles to provide a permanent therapy for patients. While this may sound like science fiction, we already have evidence from human trials that in vivo genome editing of the liver is possible.
Go here to see the original:
3 Questions: Daniel Anderson on the progress of mRNA vaccines - MIT News
- Proof-of-Concept Exploit Released for Progress Software OpenEdge Vulnerability - The Hacker News - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Progress being made on fire alarms, Oswego town supervisor says - oswegocountynewsnow.com - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Progress on the Boyertown Express featured at Dinner - Berks Weekly - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Fire Crews Stop Forward Progress of Two-Acre Brush Fire Near Vandenberg - Santa Barbara Edhat - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Hopewell plans to install speed cameras at three city schools - Progress Index - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- New numbers on progress of penny sales tax - The Post and Courier - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Long Island woman who survived acid attack continues to make progress in recovery - PIX11 New York News - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Beam marks progress toward bringing 1st-ever MLS team to San Diego - NBC San Diego - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- McKone: Irish-American progress and paradoxes | Perspective | timesargus.com - Barre Montpelier Times Argus - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Big East reportedly making a lot of progress on media rights deals with CBS, Fox - Awful Announcing - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Berrien County farmers note slow progress on the new Farm Bill - News/Talk/Sports 94.9 WSJM - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- END OF SESSION: Sen. Crider and Rep. Cherry reflect on progress made during the legislative session - Greenfield Daily Reporter - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Vowles being patient with Sargeant but expects to see "progress" - RaceFans - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Inflation ticked up in February, reversing some prior progress - ABC News - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Latest NEOM progress video of The Line is indicator of scale - Supercar Blondie - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Statewide Impact of Ohio Intel ProjectEvident in Initial Progress Report - Scioto Post - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- SpaceX makes significant progress with third Starship orbital test flight - TechCrunch - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- UPDATE: Forward progress stopped on vegetation fire near Lompoc - KSBY News - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Lady Rattlers and Diamondbacks ready to roll - Progresstimes - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- SpaceX celebrates major progress on the third flight of Starship - Ars Technica - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Helldivers 2 Galactic War live map: Track status and progress with this Liberty-approved web app - Windows Central - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Pittsburgh police will only respond to calls of in-progress emergencies as part of new staffing plan - Police News - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- A year of achievement, rebuilding and progress for utilities - Yoursun.com - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Trkiye: No Direct Dialogue with Damascus, No Progress in Normalization - Asharq Al-awsat - English - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- A WORK IN PROGRESS | News | shelbynews.com - Shelbynews - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- From recurrent networks to GPT-4: Measuring algorithmic progress in language models - Tech Xplore - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- U.S. Inability To Address Nuclear Waste Harms Environmental Progress - Newsweek - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Park Progress - Greater Wilmington Business Journal - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- SF supervisor to hold hearing on homeless-shelter progress | Housing | sfexaminer.com - San Francisco Examiner - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- 'It's good to see progress being made on the site': Revised vision for Liberty Theater property in Libertyville - Daily Herald - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Diversity Among Emmy Winners Is a Result of Industry Progress - TheWrap - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- What would Dr. King say about progress and 2024? - The Chicago Cusader - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Police: Petersburg woman reportedly used hammer to hit her boyfriend - Progress Index - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Spokane County crews make great progress ahead of another storm system - AOL - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Lady Tigers Split Last Weeks Game's Lexington Progress - lexingtonprogress.com - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Lexington Police Investigate Shooting at Walmart Lexington Progress - lexingtonprogress.com - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Scotts Hill Lions Dominated Last Week Lexington Progress - lexingtonprogress.com - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Older Couple Rescued From Submerged Vehicle Lexington Progress - lexingtonprogress.com - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Fore-ward Progress | Bintelli's new River Ridge facility to focus on making electric golf carts - WDRB - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- VIDEO: Project manager gives update on Glenn McConnell Widening progress - Live 5 News WCSC - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Truck driver sentenced for trafficking cocaine to Prince George County - Progress Index - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- After decades of little progress, Milwaukee begins new approach to improve lives of Black men and boys - madison365.com - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Women are bored of waiting: Slow progress on shattering the glass ceiling on company boards - I by IMD - I by IMD - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Now Accepting Applications for the 2024 Progress Software Mary Szkely Scholarship for Women in STEM - GlobeNewswire - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- "Some progress made" at Onslow BOE meeting, according to number of parents - WCTI12.com - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Spokane County crews make great progress ahead of another storm system - Nonstop Local - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- DeSantis took credit for Florida's progress but Iowa may have sniffed out his bravado | Opinion - Yahoo News Canada - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Has the Israeli Military Made Progress in Its Goal of Destroying Hamas? : State of the World from NPR - NPR - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Jan. 19 Panel Examines 30-Year Progress of Women in Research - Mirage News - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Ducks' Midseason Check-in: Progress, Improvement Areas & More - The Hockey Writers - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Companies are hiding their climate progress. A new report explains why. - Grist - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Lou Leonatti With Progress Mexico Gives Hospital Bankruptcy Hearing Update On AM 1340 KXEO Am I Awake Morning Show - KXEO - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Seaside Heights Wants to See Progress From Developers, Will Investigate 'Bamboo' Property - Shorebeat - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Progress over perfection: Is Coach modelling a path for fashion transformation? - Vogue Business - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Watch the video of the Edmonds armed robbery in progress - MyNorthwest - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Albemarle County house burns to the ground in late night fire - The Daily Progress - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- GHDDI and Microsoft Research use AI technology to achieve significant progress in discovering new drugs to treat ... - Microsoft - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Henderson County Suspects Apprehended in Trenton Lexington Progress - lexingtonprogress.com - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- HCFD Reports Lowest Number of Residential Fires - lexingtonprogress.com - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Unlocking The Future: CAGA's Progress In Web3 And Blockchain Innovation - Benzinga - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Underwhelming performance: Quarterbacks still a work in progress - Daily O'Collegian - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- Governor Hochul Announces Progress in Increasing MTA Accessibility - ny.gov - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- A progress report: The columnist's garden in September - Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- September 2023: Innovative researchers celebrate scientific ... - Environmental Factor Newsletter - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- Progress over perfectionism - Lynn University - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- Signs of progress on new Folsom Medical Office Building - UC Davis Health - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- LA District FUDS team makes progress on Nellis Remedial Action ... - spl.usace.army.mil - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- UFC Fight Night 226 winner Volkan Oezdemir pleased with progress after training with Khamzat Chimaev - Yahoo Sports - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- Seeing signs of progress, Tigers take on White Sox - Deadspin - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- Qualifications recognition: A door to collective progress - University World News - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- Farm Progress Show opens on Tuesday in Decatur - Herald & Review - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- General Squier sculpture is in progress - The County Press - Thecountypress - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- Antimalarial drug discovery: progress and approaches - Nature.com - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- Seeing signs of progress, Tigers take on White Sox - The Albany Herald - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- Commentary: Nurturing progress The evolution of the Annie ... - Standard-Examiner - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- World Cup kiss: feminist progress is always met with backlash, but ... - The Conversation - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- Mapping Progress in Pancreatic Cancer Surgery: Looking to the ... - OncLive - September 1st, 2023 [September 1st, 2023]
- Review in progress: 'Starfield' takes the 'Skyrim' formula out into the ... - GeekWire - September 1st, 2023 [September 1st, 2023]
- Falmouth Water Quality Committee Making Progress On Ocean Outfall - CapeNews.net - September 1st, 2023 [September 1st, 2023]
- Youngstown schools, teachers make progress on negotiations ... - Youngstown Vindicator - September 1st, 2023 [September 1st, 2023]