Taiwanese scientists have discovered a new way to synthesize circular RNA (circRNA), which could be applied to vaccine development, the National Institute of Infectious Disease and Vaccinology told a news conference yesterday.
Linear RNA is inherently unstable so using it in mRNA vaccines requires that the vaccines be stored and deployed in specific conditions to avoid degradation and loss of effectiveness, institute scientists said.
CircRNA eliminates its linear counterpart’s instability without compromising the ease of modification and editing that make mRNA vaccines possible, said institute associate researcher Yu Chia-yi (余佳益), who headed the research.
Photo: Wu Po-hsuan, Taipei Times
The potential of applying circRNA in vaccine development is limited by the mechanisms used to synthesize the substance, including bacteriophage and splicing-based processes, he said, adding that the current synthesis methods have significant drawbacks, such as inefficiency, low-purity products and unwanted RNA fragments.
The research team discovered a novel method that uses ligase ribozymes to trigger linear RNA into autonomously folding itself, enabling the efficient production of high-purity circRNA, he said.
The study also discovered that circRNAs with a singular internal ribosome entry site could cause the translation of interferon, a class of proteins secreted by the body to suppress viral reproduction, Yu said.
Additionally, the research team found that specifically guided RNA allowed circRNA expressing cas13 ribonuclease to effectively “snipe” the corresponding RNA virus, suggesting a new concept for viral treatments, he said.
The institute said the findings have implications for mRNA-based vaccine design and production.
The study was published in the journal Nature Communications in August last year.
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