J Bacteriol Virol.  2016 Sep;46(3):115-127. 10.4167/jbv.2016.46.3.115.

The Characteristics of RNA Vaccine; its Strengths and Weaknesses

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Biotechnology, The Catholic University of Korea, Gyeonggi-do, Korea. jhnam@catholic.ac.kr

Abstract

Since 1990 when Wolff and co-authors proved that both RNA and DNA expression vectors containing interest gene were directly injected into mouse muscle and expressed the protein in vivo, the concept of gene vaccine has been broadly tested in the vaccine field. However, due to the limitations of technology and the misconception about RNA, most previous studies have focused on the DNA vaccine. Recently, the RNA vaccine has emerged as a new game-changing disruptive innovation technology in the vaccine field. This review has covered the characteristics of the RNA vaccine, including its strengths and weaknesses. Finally, we have suggested future directions for the RNA vaccine.

Keyword

RNA vaccine; IRES; Cap; Virus; in vitro transcription

MeSH Terms

Animals
DNA
Mice
RNA*
DNA
RNA

Figure

  • Figure 1. Different mechanism between DNA vaccines and the RNA vaccines makes different features such as efficiency and stability.

  • Figure 2. (A) RNA vaccine contain in 5′-UTR region, ORF (Open Reading Frame, Gene of Interest, GOI) and 3′-UTR region. (B) Various modifications on 5′-UTR region of vaccines are essential for initiation of translation. IRES: Internal Ribosome Entry site, Cap-like: Cap-like structures. (C) Translation of some mRNAs depends on interactions between 5′-UTR and 3′-UTR region. PABP: Poly A Binding Protein, IFC: a Complex of translation Initiation Factors.

  • Figure 3. (A) Schematic structure of self-replicon RNA vaccine contains in structural and nonstructural protein coding region to replicate.51-nt CSE: 51-nt Conserved Sequence Element, SG promoter: sub-genomic promoter (B) Replacement of structural protein coding region with GOI (Gene of Interest).

  • Figure 4. Platform structure of RNA vaccine of CureVec company. AAAA n: Poly A. CCCCC n: Poly C.


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