The Ministry of Science and ICT on Aug. 14 said a domestic research team led by Kim V. Narry, head of the Center for RNA Research at the Institute for Basic Science, has identified regulatory elements that improve RNA stability and protein production and explained how they work. (iClickArt) Unauthorized reproduction and redistribution of this image is prohibited under copyright law.

By Lee Jihae

The discovery of a survival strategy developed by viruses over millions of years of evolution has paved the way to drastically improve the performance of mRNA vaccines and therapeutics.

The Ministry of Science and ICT on Aug. 14 said a domestic research team led by Kim V. Narry, head of the Center for RNA Research at the Institute for Basic Science, analyzed 337 types of viruses that infect vertebrates, identified regulatory elements that promote RNA stability and protein production, and explained their inner workings.

The study focused on applying RNA regulatory strategies to mRNA vaccines and therapeutics. In earlier studies, researchers confirmed that identification of viral RNA stabilization factors and their application to therapeutic mRNA can enhance stability and protein yield.

In this in-depth research, the genomes of 337 species belonging to 297 genera of viruses that infect vertebrates were divided and synthesized into some 200,000 RNA fragments; these were later systematically analyzed using high-throughput parallel analysis methods to examine the diversity, mechanisms of action and evolutionary traits of viral RNA regulatory elements.

The RNA regulatory element Pt1 identified in this study was shown to have high potential for practical applications, as it can maintain the linear structure of mRNA while achieving stability comparable to that of circular RNA.

Because it retains the advantages of linear mRNA, which is relatively easy to produce, while raising the half-life of RNA and the efficiency of protein production, this discovery is expected to serve as the basis for innovative technologies that can improve the performance of next-generation mRNA vaccines and therapeutics.

The findings were published on Aug. 14 in the leading global scientific journal Cell.

jihlee08@korea.kr