Amplifying mRNA vaccines: potential versatile magicians for oncotherapy

Front Immunol. 2023 Oct 23:14:1261243. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1261243. eCollection 2023.

Abstract

Cancer vaccines drive the activation and proliferation of tumor-reactive immune cells, thereby eliciting tumor-specific immunity that kills tumor cells. Accordingly, they possess immense potential in cancer treatment. However, such vaccines are also faced with challenges related to their design and considerable differences among individual tumors. The success of messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines against coronavirus disease 2019 has prompted the application of mRNA vaccine technology platforms to the field of oncotherapy. These platforms include linear, circular, and amplifying mRNA vaccines. In particular, amplifying mRNA vaccines are characterized by high-level and prolonged antigen gene expression at low doses. They can also stimulate specific cellular immunity, making them highly promising in cancer vaccine research. In this review, we summarize the research progress in amplifying mRNA vaccines and provide an outlook of their prospects and future directions in oncotherapy.

Keywords: amplifying mRNA; cancer vaccine; in vitro transcription; tumor associated antigen; tumor-specific antigen.

Publication types

  • Review
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Antigens / genetics
  • Cancer Vaccines*
  • Immunity, Cellular*
  • RNA, Messenger

Substances

  • RNA, Messenger
  • Antigens
  • Cancer Vaccines

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This review study was supported by the Emergency Key Program (NO. EKPG21-30-1) of Guangzhou Laboratory, China.