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RESEARCH PRODUCT

mRNA Vaccination and Personalized Cancer Therapy

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description

Nucleic acid vaccines link two prerequisites for success, namely, the delivery of molecularly defined antigens as vaccine targets of interest and an inherent adjuvant activity. As compared to DNA-based approaches, in vitro-transcribed messenger RNA (mRNA) is a safer drug format due to the adjustable, transient expression and lack of genomic integration. In contrast to viral vector vaccines, mRNA vaccination is not limited by the emergence of immune responses against antigens produced by the viral vector backbones. Thus, mRNA vaccines are particularly attractive for cancer immunotherapy for which induction of clinically meaningful antigen-specific immune responses depends on repeated immunization cycles. With favorable platform features such as rapid production, easy upscaling, and low production costs, mRNA immunotherapies are rapidly evolving as a novel drug format in oncology. mRNA is currently utilized in the clinic by either transfecting antigen-presenting cells in vitro which are transferred back to the patient afterwards or by direct in vivo application to the patient. This chapter provides a short summary of the history of mRNA-based vaccination and introduces into the design and production of mRNA vaccines. The principles of various strategies for mRNA delivery with a focus on direct in vivo vaccination are discussed. Finally, the review provides insights into the preclinical development and clinical translation of personalized mRNA vaccines which are tailored to the antigen profile of individual cancer patients.