Biochemists of SPbPU have proposed a new development to create various vaccines against a wide range of diseases. Scientists have developed a universal container for delivering the pathogen’s matrix RNA into human cells to trigger the production of antibodies. The results of the study are published in Pharmaceuticals.
Scientists of Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University (SPbPU) said that the best way to protect against an infectious disease is a mild contact of the body with an inactive virus or its components during vaccination. This method has been known since the XVIII century, and its effectiveness was once again confirmed during the fight against the COVID-19 epidemic.
Experts noted that classical vaccines contain not the viruses themselves, but their fragments – unique sections of proteins. When they are introduced into the human body, the production of antibodies begins, neutralizing the effect of the pathogen.
In modern vaccinology, another direction is also developing – the creation of vaccines based on the genetic material of pathogens of infectious diseases, the researchers stressed. To select the correct nucleic acid sequence, biochemists examine pathogen proteins and determine which matrix RNA (mRNA) they were synthesized from.
When an mRNA-based drug is administered in the human body, there is no contact with the causative agent of the disease. Scientists consider them safer, so such vaccines are more promising than traditional ones. Obtaining vaccines based on RNA is cheaper and faster than on the basis of an inactivated virus. The protection that the patient develops is more reliable, experts say. The genetic material itself is not dangerous, because it decomposes quite quickly in the body.
However, when creating such vaccines, developers face difficult tasks. In addition to identifying the desired RNA sequence and its development, it is necessary to create a “container” that will deliver it to its destination intact and facilitate the process of penetration through the cell membrane, the scientists noted.
“The carrier for RNA will maximize the potential of mRNA vaccines and reduce the amount of injected material. The antigen is produced inside cells in large quantities and with the correct structure, which is critical for the formation of an immune response,” said Yana Zabrodskaya, associate professor at the Higher School of Biomedical Systems and Technologies at the Institute of Biomedical Systems and Biotechnology of SPbPU.
She added that liposomes are currently one of the most effective systems for introducing different molecules into the body. These are balls whose shell consists of lipids (fats), and the inner cavity is filled with water. The structure of lipids is very similar to the cell membrane, which facilitates the “absorption” of such a particle by the cell, regardless of the contents.
SPbPU scientists as part of an international research team have proposed an original composition of liposomes, in which it is possible to place the most diverse in size and parameters of mRNA.
“Liposomes protect RNA from enzymes that can destroy it, and successfully deliver genetic material to cells. After the mRNA is inside the cell, a protein of interest to us is synthesized on its basis. We have selected the optimal composition of lipids for the most effective delivery of a fragment of nucleic acid into eukaryotic cells,” said Yana Zabrodskaya.
She added that the effectiveness of protein-antigen production in living cells has been experimentally tested on human cell cultures. The researchers were able to estimate the proportion of cells in which the protein was actually produced. The indicators were comparable to commercially available foreign drug delivery systems. The developers noted that the original cationic lipid obtained from domestic components by chemists of the Russian Technological University (MIREA) is used for the construction of liposomes.
The results of this study form the basis for the development of universal carriers of any RNA, the scientists noted. On their basis, drugs for the treatment and prevention of various diseases can be created. The study of the effectiveness of the developed mRNA delivery system for preventive and therapeutic purposes will be continued using laboratory animals.
The study was conducted within the framework of the university support program “Priority-2030”.
A source: https://e-cis.info/news/569/109133/
