mRNA drug therapy: accurate and non-toxic anti-cancer, antiviral drugs.

!--webeditor: "page title" -- July 24, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Imagine that we can instruct our bodies to make the drugs they need.
the gene technology that makes this possible is called mRNA (mRNA) therapy, which can be the primary tool for treating a wide range of diseases. researchers in
Norway are helping to develop a drug to treat the most aggressive breast cancers.
Norwegian SINTEF research scientist Sven Even Borgos announced the good news.
he is coordinating SINTEF's activities with an international project called EXPERT, which is developing a mRNA-based drug to treat the deadly triple-negative breast cancer. "Although it won't start working until October 2019, we have a prototype in place that will be tested on animals shortly," said
Borgos.
" EXPERT is an important project in the field of cancer drug treatment in the European Union, with funding of 150 million Norwegian kroner to support the work of researchers from 11 countries.
mRNA means "messenger RNA" and plays an important role in our body's life.
it can also be described as a "working copy" of our DNA and contains information or "recipes" that our cells need to make mRNAs to make proteins.
the idea of using mRNA to make drugs is based on providing the body with synthetic copies of DNA so that it can continue to make vital proteins that the body lacks, which can cause disease when and where.
Photo Source: Using gene therapy to correct defects in our bodies Is one of the most famous diseases, illustrating the importance of our genes to protein manufacturing.
in the disease, patients lack a gene that causes their bodies to produce clotting proteins. "Many people will remember the debate in 2018 about the high price of the drug Spinraza, which is very effective for some patients with spinal muscular dystrophy," said
Borgos.
this is a slow but certainly damaging disease to the patient's muscle tissue.
Spinraza is based on relevant RNA technology.
the cost of treatment for each patient is in the millions of kronor, as the company developing the drug wants to ensure that it recovers the money invested in long-term and expensive development projects.
", "This question shows how important it is for us to promote public sector funding for the development of such drugs."
the general public would be able to afford drugs if they could be developed with public funds.
this is an expert project and a new NUCLEAR magnetic resonance imaging-based drug for the purpose of treating breast cancer.
instructs our cells to "messenger" but how does mRNA work as a drug? MRNA-based drugs have the potential to be so effective because they work in the same way as our genes. "Genes contain command codes that tell the body what proteins to make, and mRNA carries those instructions as messengers,"
Borgos said.
these proteins, in turn, are responsible for the processing of nutrients.
they break down harmful substances and make our bodies look new. "In this way, the body can accurately produce the proteins that mRNAs provide instructions,"
.
in order to make synthetic mRNA components, researchers must first have DNA that makes working copies, as well as an enzyme that reads both DNA codes and makes working copies. "It sounds pretty professional, but it's actually one of the most important processes of life on Earth,"
Borgos said.
", "Actually, this is done in reagent tubes, and is part of what our researchers call "in vitro transcription."
then purify the reagent mixture using a special technique called chromatography, which separates genetic components from each other.
this allows researchers to choose the ingredients they want to activate.
side-effect-free drugs produce proteins during mRNA treatment, like drugs, naturally adapted for each patient, unlike commercially produced drugs.
most standard drugs act by changing the function of these proteins, but these changes are usually inaccurate.
this can have side effects, which can be very mild or life-threatening.
besides, we have different reactions to different drugs.
a drug that may be effective for mothers does not necessarily have the same beneficial effects on daughters with the same disease.
mRNA consists of four nucleic acids abbreviated to the letters A, U, C, and G.
cells interpret the order in which these nucleic acids are arranged, just like the ingredients in a protein formula.
if the mRNA formula cannot be read, it has no effect and therefore no side effects.
However, if the opposite happens, the body will only make the protein it needs at the right time and in the right place.
"This approach offers excellent opportunities in the field of vaccines and drug therapy," Borgos said.
mRNA needs protection, however, mRNA is a very delicate molecule.
if it goes astray without protection, for example in our blood, our bodies will destroy it.
for this reason, researchers have developed a way to provide them with protective packaging -- encapsulating them in nanoparticles.
these particles are usually made up of fats, called lipids, such as cholesterol.
package makes mRNAs safe in our blood in their custom lipid packs.
then it can find a way to enter our cells on a journey around our bodies.
lipid capsules also play another key role because their cholesterol content makes cells more attractive to them.
these cells absorb drug packs through cell membranes, release mRNA and begin to make useful proteins.
picture source: Our liver is like a pharmaceutical factory", however, it's not easy to have nanoparticles absorbed by the right cells," Borgos said. "In many cases, they end up in our livers, " he explains
. "Normally, the liver is the center of waste disposal, and it removes all toxins from the blood, "
.
however, it also has enough protein manufacturing capacity.
so when the liver absorbs nanoparticles containing mRNA, it produces most of the proteins the body needs and delivers them to the bloodstream.
liver sourzers and drug factories in our bodies.
!--/ewebeditor: !--webeditor: !--:page title" -- however, as part of their efforts to produce new cancer drugs, the researchers will put the substances that trigger immune cells directly into the tumor.
therefore, it is very important to protect the optimal working condition of the lipid film.
in fact, the SINTEF Norwegian team is testing the quality of the capsules.
as a partner in the European Union Nanomedical Properties Laboratory (EUNCL) project, the team has many years of experience in testing medicinal nanoparticles.
it will closely monitor the characteristics of particles, such as size, exact chemical composition and storage properties.
multiple applications of mRNA therapy offer many different applications. In addition to activating the body's immune system against cancer,
can also serve as an effective vaccine against genetic diseases and for heart disease patients.
expert projects are also working on the latter application.
a drug delivery system that uses nanoparticles has a unique characteristic that mRNA components can be exchanged without any significant changes in the overall chemical composition and does not allow the drug to be distributed in different ways in the body.
when new knowledge is discovered about a disease, progress in the development of effective drugs will be short-lived.
the project is also dedicated to the treatment of heart attacks.
here, the aim is to use mRNA to promote the regeneration of damaged heart tissue.
mRNA drugs can even be injected directly into the spinal tube, bypassing the so-called blood-brain barrier into the brain.
the function of this almost impenetrable film is to protect the brain, but it also makes it very difficult to treat brain diseases.
() Reference: mRNA drug therapy Instruct: ing the body to the body it's own cancer drugs a revolution in development-butw we all benefit? EXPERT project !--/ewebeditor:page.