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Pascolo S. Nonreplicating synthetic mRNA vaccines: A journey through the European (Journal of Immunology) history. Eur J Immunol 2023; 53:e2249941. [PMID: 37029096 DOI: 10.1002/eji.202249941] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2022] [Revised: 03/29/2023] [Accepted: 04/03/2023] [Indexed: 04/09/2023]
Abstract
The first worldwide article reporting that injections of synthetic nonreplicating mRNA could be used as a vaccine, which originated from a French team located in Paris, was published in the European Journal of Immunology (EJI) in 1993. It relied on work conducted by several research groups in a handful of countries since the 1960s, which put forward the precise description of eukaryotic mRNA and the method to reproduce this molecule in vitro as well as how to transfect it into mammalian cells. Thereafter, the first industrial development of this technology began in Germany in 2000, with the founding of CureVac, which stemmed from another description of a synthetic mRNA vaccine published in EJI in 2000. The first clinical studies investigating mRNA vaccines in humans were performed as collaboration between CureVac and the University of Tübingen in Germany as early as 2003. Finally, the first worldwide approved mRNA vaccine (an anti-COVID-19 vaccine) is based on the mRNA technologies developed by BioNTech since its 2008 foundation in Mainz, Germany, and earlier by the pioneering academic work of its founders. In addition to the past, present, and future of mRNA-based vaccines, the article aims to present the geographical distribution of the early work, how the development of the technology was implemented by several independent and internationally distributed research teams, as well as the controversies on the optimal way to design or formulate and administer mRNA vaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steve Pascolo
- Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Zürich (USZ), University of Zürich (UZH), Zürich, Switzerland
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
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Tusup M, Läuchli S, Jarzebska NT, French LE, Chang YT, Vonow-Eisenring M, Su A, Kündig TM, Guenova E, Pascolo S. mRNA-Based Anti-TCR CDR3 Tumour Vaccine for T-Cell Lymphoma. Pharmaceutics 2021; 13:pharmaceutics13071040. [PMID: 34371731 PMCID: PMC8308944 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics13071040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2021] [Revised: 06/24/2021] [Accepted: 06/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Efficient vaccination can be achieved by injections of in vitro transcribed mRNA (ivt mRNA) coding for antigens. This vaccine format is particularly versatile and allows the production of individualised vaccines conferring, T-cell immunity against specific cancer mutations. The CDR3 hypervariable regions of immune receptors (T-cell receptor, TCR or B-cell receptor, BCR) in the context of T- or B-cell leukaemia or lymphoma are targetable and specific sequences, similar to cancer mutations. We evaluated the functionality of an mRNA-based vaccine designed to trigger immunity against TCR CDR3 regions in an EL4 T-lymphoma cell line-derived murine in vivo model. Vaccination against the hypervariable TCR regions proved to be a feasible approach and allowed for protection against T-lymphoma, even though immune escape in terms of TCR downregulation paralleled the therapeutic effect. However, analysis of human cutaneous T-cell lymphoma samples indicated that, as is the case in B-lymphomas, the clonotypic receptor may be a driver mutation and is not downregulated upon treatment. Thus, vaccination against TCR CDR3 regions using customised ivt mRNA is a promising immunotherapy method to be explored for the treatment of patients with T-cell lymphomas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina Tusup
- Department of Dermatology, University Hospital of Zürich, Raemistrasse 100, 8091 Zürich, Switzerland; (M.T.); (S.L.); (N.T.J.); (T.M.K.)
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Zürich, 8006 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Severin Läuchli
- Department of Dermatology, University Hospital of Zürich, Raemistrasse 100, 8091 Zürich, Switzerland; (M.T.); (S.L.); (N.T.J.); (T.M.K.)
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Zürich, 8006 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Natalia Teresa Jarzebska
- Department of Dermatology, University Hospital of Zürich, Raemistrasse 100, 8091 Zürich, Switzerland; (M.T.); (S.L.); (N.T.J.); (T.M.K.)
- Faculty of Science, University of Zürich, 8006 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Lars E. French
- Department of Dermatology and Allergy, University Hospital, LMU Munich, 80539 Munich, Germany;
- Dr. Phillip Frost Department of Dermatology & Cutaneous Surgery, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33146, USA
| | - Yun-Tsan Chang
- Department of Dermatology, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV), University of Lausanne, 1000 Lausanne, Switzerland;
| | - Maya Vonow-Eisenring
- Department of Immunology, University Hospital of Zürich, Raemistrasse 100, 8091 Zürich, Switzerland;
| | | | - Thomas M. Kündig
- Department of Dermatology, University Hospital of Zürich, Raemistrasse 100, 8091 Zürich, Switzerland; (M.T.); (S.L.); (N.T.J.); (T.M.K.)
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Zürich, 8006 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Emmanuella Guenova
- Department of Dermatology, University Hospital of Zürich, Raemistrasse 100, 8091 Zürich, Switzerland; (M.T.); (S.L.); (N.T.J.); (T.M.K.)
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Zürich, 8006 Zürich, Switzerland
- Department of Dermatology, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV), University of Lausanne, 1000 Lausanne, Switzerland;
- Correspondence: authors: (E.G.); (S.P.)
| | - Steve Pascolo
- Department of Dermatology, University Hospital of Zürich, Raemistrasse 100, 8091 Zürich, Switzerland; (M.T.); (S.L.); (N.T.J.); (T.M.K.)
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Zürich, 8006 Zürich, Switzerland
- Correspondence: authors: (E.G.); (S.P.)
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