WHO’s Science Council issues report on mRNA vaccine technology

19 Dec 2023

Context: Recently a report on mRNA vaccine technology was published by WHO’s Science Council highlighting the potential benefits and limitations of mRNA vaccine technology was released.

Report on mRNA vaccine technology: WHO

  • Importance of R&D: The report reveals the importance of research and development (R&D) efforts to COVID-19 mRNA vaccines and outlines the challenges of inequitable access.
  • Global distribution: mRNA Global distribution of COVID-19 vaccinations was uneven because of a lack of resources for research and development as well as obstacles pertaining to intellectual property.
  • Customized mRNA: The ability to get easily customized, increases their potential as effective personalized therapies with fewer side effects.

About mRNA

  • Messenger RNA (abbreviated mRNA) is a type of single-stranded RNA involved in protein synthesis. 
  • Formation: mRNA is made from a DNA template during the process of transcription
  • Purpose: Messenger RNA (mRNA) molecules carry the coding sequences for protein synthesis and are called transcripts.
About RNA:

  • Ribonucleic acid (abbreviated RNA) is a nucleic acid present in all living cells that has structural similarities to DNA. 
  • It contains the following nitrogenous bases: adenine, guanine, uracil, and cytosine.
  • Function: To create proteins via translation

Types of RNA

  • tRNA: Transfer RNA (abbreviated tRNA) molecules carry amino acids to the ribosomes during protein synthesis.
  • rRNA: rRNARibosomal RNA (rRNA) molecules form the core of a cell’s ribosomes (the structures in which protein synthesis takes place)

Protein synthesis:

  • Protein synthesis is a two stage process involving:
    • Transcription: It refers to  the transfer of genetic instructions in DNA to mRNA in the nucleus. 
    • Translation: In this process the instructions in mRNA are read, and tRNA brings the correct sequence of amino acids to the ribosome. Then, rRNA helps bonds form between the amino acids, producing a polypeptide chain.

Application of mRNA 

  • Precisional drugs: It has scope in  preventing and treating many intractable diseases.
    • For Example: mRNAs are used to treat propionic acidaemia, a disease where children have low levels of two liver proteins (which prevents toxic by-products from building up in the body)
  • Easy to customize: Easy to customize for any protein, mRNAs can be edited to meet the needs of the patient through targeted drug delivery
  • mRNA-based cancer therapeutics: It helps in encoding tumor antigens for cancer vaccines, cytokines for immunotherapy, tumor suppressors to inhibit tumor development.

mRNA vaccine technology

To Read More about mRNA Vaccines:

 

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