Cited by 584RNA Interference and Gene DeliveryNanoparticle-Based Drug DeliveryAdvanced Drug Delivery Systems

Opportunities and Challenges in the Delivery of mRNA-Based Vaccines

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Wadhwa, Abishek, Aljabbari, Anas, Lokras, Abhijeet, Foged, Camilla, Thakur, Aneesh·2020·Pharmaceutics

Abstract

In the past few years, there has been increasing focus on the use of messenger RNA (mRNA) as a new therapeutic modality. Current clinical efforts encompassing mRNA-based drugs are directed toward infectious disease vaccines, cancer immunotherapies, therapeutic protein replacement therapies, and treatment of genetic diseases. However, challenges that impede the successful translation of these molecules into drugs are that (i) mRNA is a very large molecule, (ii) it is intrinsically unstable and prone to degradation by nucleases, and (iii) it activates the immune system. Although some of these challenges have been partially solved by means of chemical modification of the mRNA, intracellular delivery of mRNA still represents a major hurdle. The clinical translation of mRNA-based therapeutics requires delivery technologies that can ensure stabilization of mRNA under physiological conditions. Here, we (i) review opportunities and challenges in the delivery of mRNA-based therapeutics with a focus on non-viral delivery systems, (ii) present the clinical status of mRNA vaccines, and (iii) highlight perspectives on the future of this promising new type of medicine.

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Crossref · 10.3390/pharmaceutics12020102

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  • At present, the 3′ UTR is mainly derived from hemoglobin subunit α (HBA) and subunit β (HBB) genes, but it can also be derived from albumin (ALB), heat-shock protein 70 (Hsp70), tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), and collagen alpha 1 (COL1A1) genes.

    “At present, the 3′ UTR is mainly derived from hemoglobin subunit α (HBA) and subunit β (HBB) genes,140 but it can also be derived from albumin (ALB), heat-shock protein 70 (Hsp70), tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), and collagen alpha 1 (COL1A1) genes.141–143”

    From Advances in COVID-19 mRNA vaccine development (2022) · cites this paper as [140]

  • The 5′ cap protects mRNA sterically from degradation by exonucleases and works synergistically with the poly(A) tail, poly(A) binding proteins and translation initiation factor proteins to circularize mRNA and recruit ribosomes for initiating translation.

    “Further, the 5′ cap protects the mRNA sterically from degradation by exonucleases, and it works synergistically with the poly(A) tail at the 3′ end, poly(A) binding proteins and translation initiation factor proteins to circularize mRNA and recruit ribosomes for initiating translation10,11.”
  • 2′-O-methylation of the first or second nucleotide from the 5′ end prevents recognition by cytosolic sensors of viral RNA and hence prevents unintended immune responses.

    “As in mammals, the first or second nucleotide from the 5′ end is methylated on the 2′ hydroxyl of the ribose (2′-O-methylation), which prevents recognition by cytosolic sensors of viral RNA10, and hence prevents unintended immune responses.”
  • The 5′ and 3′ UTRs flanking the coding region regulate mRNA translation, half-life and subcellular localization.

    “The 5′ and 3′ UTRs flanking the coding region regulate mRNA translation, half-life and subcellular localization10,14.”

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2 of the 184 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. [54]Shin D. Azizian K.T. Henderson J.M. Lebedev A. Hogrefe R.I. Houston M. McCaffrey A.P. BioTechnologies T. Exploring the Messenger RNA Capping Code: CleanCap Co-Transcriptional Capping Allows Synthesis of Cap 0, Cap 1, Cap 2 and (M6) A (M) Capped RNAs Cell Press Cambridge, MA, USA 2018 91
  2. [81]Sahin U. Karikó K. Türeci Ö. mRNA-based therapeutics — developing a new class of drugs Nat. Pub. Gr. 2014 10.1038/nrd4278 25233993 · DOI · Paper page

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Authors
Wadhwa, A., Aljabbari, A., Lokras, A., Foged, C., & Thakur, A.
Affiliations
University of Copenhagen (DK)
Corresponding author
Thakur, Aneesh
Venue
Pharmaceutics
Publisher
MDPI AG
Published
2020-01-28
Volume
12
Issue
2
Pages
102
ISSN
1999-4923 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W3004416358
Cited by
584
References
184
Citations by year
2026: 55 · 2025: 110 · 2024: 90 · 2023: 109 · 2022: 125 · 2021: 76 · 2020: 19
FWCI
7.87
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Pharmaceutics (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Research at the University of Copenhagen (University of Copenhagen) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
Det Frie Forskningsråd (9041-00198B)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › RNA Interference and Gene Delivery
  • Physical Sciences › Materials Science › Biomaterials › Nanoparticle-Based Drug Delivery
  • Life Sciences › Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics › Pharmaceutical Science › Advanced Drug Delivery Systems
Keywords
mRNA vaccines, mRNA delivery, mRNA stability, nucleic acid degradation, immune activation, clinical translation, cancer immunotherapy, genetic disease treatment

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