Borah Pobitra, Deb Pran Kishore, Al-Shar'i Nizar A, Dahabiyeh Lina A, Venugopala Katharigatta N, Singh Vinayak, Shinu Pottathil, Hussain Snawar, Deka Satyendra, Chandrasekaran Balakumar, Jaradat Da'san M M
School of Pharmacy, Graphic Era Hill University, Dehradun, India.
Pratiksha Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Assam, India.
Front Mol Biosci. 2021 Mar 25;8:635245. doi: 10.3389/fmolb.2021.635245. eCollection 2021.
With the current outbreak caused by SARS-CoV-2, vaccination is acclaimed as a public health care priority. Rapid genetic sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 has triggered the scientific community to search for effective vaccines. Collaborative approaches from research institutes and biotech companies have acknowledged the use of viral proteins as potential vaccine candidates against COVID-19. Nucleic acid (DNA or RNA) vaccines are considered the next generation vaccines as they can be rapidly designed to encode any desirable viral sequence including the highly conserved antigen sequences. RNA vaccines being less prone to host genome integration (cons of DNA vaccines) and anti-vector immunity (a compromising factor of viral vectors) offer great potential as front-runners for universal COVID-19 vaccine. The proof of concept for RNA-based vaccines has already been proven in humans, and the prospects for commercialization are very encouraging as well. With the emergence of COVID-19, mRNA-1273, an mRNA vaccine developed by Moderna, Inc. was the first to enter human trials, with the first volunteer receiving the dose within 10 weeks after SARS-CoV-2 genetic sequencing. The recent interest in mRNA vaccines has been fueled by the state of the art technologies that enhance mRNA stability and improve vaccine delivery. Interestingly, as per the "Draft landscape of COVID-19 candidate vaccines" published by the World Health Organization (WHO) on December 29, 2020, seven potential RNA based COVID-19 vaccines are in different stages of clinical trials; of them, two candidates already received emergency use authorization, and another 22 potential candidates are undergoing pre-clinical investigations. This review will shed light on the rationality of RNA as a platform for vaccine development against COVID-19, highlighting the possible pros and cons, lessons learned from the past, and the future prospects.
随着新型冠状病毒（SARS-CoV-2）引发的当前疫情爆发，疫苗接种被誉为公共卫生保健的优先事项。SARS-CoV-2的快速基因测序促使科学界寻找有效的疫苗。研究机构和生物技术公司的合作方法认可了使用病毒蛋白作为针对COVID-19的潜在候选疫苗。核酸（DNA或RNA）疫苗被认为是下一代疫苗，因为它们可以快速设计以编码任何所需的病毒序列，包括高度保守的抗原序列。RNA疫苗不太容易发生宿主基因组整合（DNA疫苗的缺点）和抗载体免疫（病毒载体的一个不利因素），作为通用COVID-19疫苗的领跑者具有巨大潜力。基于RNA的疫苗的概念验证已经在人体中得到证实，商业化前景也非常令人鼓舞。随着COVID-19的出现，Moderna公司开发的mRNA疫苗mRNA-1273率先进入人体试验，第一名志愿者在SARS-CoV-2基因测序后的10周内接受了剂量。最新技术增强了mRNA稳定性并改善了疫苗递送，这推动了近期对mRNA疫苗的兴趣。有趣的是，根据世界卫生组织（WHO）于2020年12月29日发布的“COVID-19候选疫苗概况”，七种潜在的基于RNA的COVID-19疫苗正处于不同阶段的临床试验；其中，两种候选疫苗已获得紧急使用授权，另外22种潜在候选疫苗正在进行临床前研究。本综述将阐明RNA作为针对COVID-19疫苗开发平台的合理性，强调可能的利弊、从过去吸取的教训以及未来前景。
