mRNA vaccine development to fight cancer
By Olivia
Newton-John Cancer Research Institute
Edited by Sadie Harley, reviewed by Robert Egan
A study by Australian researchers compared three mRNA-LNP
vaccine platforms in human blood samples, generating findings that could
advance cancer treatment and vaccine design.
Photo by Spencer Davis on Unsplash
mRNA-lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) transformed the way that
vaccines are delivered to humans when they became widely used during the
COVID-19 pandemic.
mRNA-LNPs
are tiny parcels, ~800 times smaller than the width of a human hair, made of
fatty acids (lipids) and containing cargo (messenger RNA) that needs to be
delivered inside the body to generate a treatment response (for example,
immunity to a virus).
Today, researchers around the world are investigating
mRNA-LNPs as candidates for "cancer
vaccines" that would deliver mRNA cargo to boost the patient's immune
system and empower it to kill cancer more effectively.
Tracking three vaccines in human blood
Led by researchers at the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research
Institute (ONJCRI) and the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity,
this study analyzed 327 blood samples from 73 participants who received
Moderna, Pfizer or an investigational COVID-19 mRNA vaccine.
The team assessed whether the mRNA cargo was present in the
blood and remained intact after delivery, the stability of the lipid-based
packaging and where degradation occurred in the mRNA cargo.
Dr. Yi (David) Ju, senior author of the paper published
in ACS Nano and laboratory head at ONJCRI, affiliated with La Trobe
University as the School of Cancer Medicine, said, "mRNA vaccines do not
all behave the same way in the bloodstream. We found differences in how quickly
their mRNA and lipid components declined, and how long sections of the mRNA
remained intact."
The researchers also found that much of the circulating mRNA
measured in the Moderna and Pfizer groups was fragmented. A more detailed
analysis in six Moderna recipients found that the mRNA was less intact near one
end of the mRNA molecule, a pattern also seen in the original vaccine
formulation.
Greater stability could allow lower doses
The findings provide strong clues on how to make the
vaccines more stable, likely making them much more efficient so that patients
can receive lower vaccine doses that cause fewer side effects.
Professor Stephen Kent, first author of the study and
laboratory head at the Doherty Institute, said, "These findings give us a
way to compare the mRNA cargo and lipid delivery components of different
vaccines in people. That knowledge will help us design and evaluate future
improved, more efficient mRNA vaccines and therapeutics, including approaches
being developed for cancer."
By establishing a framework to compare mRNA-LNP platforms in
humans, the study can help guide the development of more effective mRNA-based
medicines.
Publication details
Stephen J. Kent et al., In Vivo Blood Kinetics and
Transcript Integrity of Three mRNA–Lipid Nanoparticle Vaccines in Humans, ACS
Nano (2026). DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.6c09226
Journal information: ACS Nano
