mRNA vaccines: A matter of delivery

Overview

Microorganisms play a fundamental role in vaccine development, gene therapy, and therapeutic production. Their biological properties are harnessed to advance medicine and public health. Beyond immunization, microorganisms contribute to gut health, antibiotic synthesis, and genetic disease treatment.Live Attenuated and Inactivated VaccinesLive attenuated vaccines, such as the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine, utilize weakened forms of pathogens to closely resemble natural infections.

In eukaryotes, transcription and translation are compartmentalized; an mRNA is first synthesized in the nucleus and then selectively transported to the cytoplasm for protein synthesis. Before transport, a pre-mRNA undergoes several steps of post-transcriptional modifications including splicing, 5' capping, and the addition of a poly-adenine tail. Various proteins bind to the pre-mRNA during these modifications. The mRNA transport takes place with the help of multiple proteins playing...

The pentose sugar in DNA is deoxyribose, while in RNA the pentose sugar is ribose. The difference between the sugars is the presence of the hydroxyl group on the ribose's second carbon and a hydrogen on the deoxyribose's second carbon. The phosphate residue attaches to the hydroxyl group of the 5′ carbon of one sugar and the hydroxyl group of the 3′ carbon of the sugar of the next nucleotide, which forms  a 5′ to 3′ phosphodiester linkage.
DNA Structure
DNA...