Kim SC, Sekhon SS, Shin WR, Ahn G, Cho BK, Ahn JY, Kim YH. Modifications of mRNA vaccine structural elements for improving mRNA stability and translation efficiency.
Mol Cell Toxicol 2021;
18:1-8. [PMID:
34567201 PMCID:
PMC8450916 DOI:
10.1007/s13273-021-00171-4]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/13/2021] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
Background
mRNA vaccines hold great potential as therapeutic techniques against viral infections due to their efficacy, safety,
and large-scale production. mRNA vaccines offer flexibility in development as any protein can be produced from
mRNA without altering the production or application process.
Objective
This review highlights the iterative optimization of mRNA vaccine structural elements that impact the type,
specificity, and intensity of immune responses leading to higher translational potency and intracellular stability.
Results
Modifying the mRNA structural elements particularly the 5′ cap, 5′-and 3′-untranslated regions (UTRs), the coding region, and polyadenylation tail help reduce the excessive mRNA immunogenicity and consistently improve its
intracellular stability and translational efficiency.
Conclusion
Further studies regarding mRNA-structural elements and their optimization are needed to create new opportunities
for engineering mRNA vaccines.
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