Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman won the 2023 Nobel Prize in Medicine. Their research on mRNA vaccine development helped combat COVID-19. The Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute recognized their contributions on October 2.
Their groundbreaking work was crucial in the fight against the global pandemic starting in 2020. This was confirmed in a statement on the official Nobel Prize website.
mRNA Vaccines And Their Role In The Covid-19 Fight
- Vaccines traditionally work by placing dead or weakened viruses into the human body.
- This prompts the body to create antibodies to fight these viruses.
- So, when the real virus tries to infect the body, it is ready to combat it.
- With advances in technology, vaccines have evolved too.
- Instead of using the whole virus, scientists now use a part of the virus’s genetic code for vaccines.
- However, producing these modern vaccines on a large scale necessitates cell culture, which involves controlled growth of cells.
- This process can be time-consuming.
- The Covid-19 pandemic demanded a quick response to combat the lethal, rapidly spreading virus.
- The key to this fast response was mRNA technology.
Modified mRNA – A Key To Protein Synthesis
- Dendritic cells view in vitro mRNA as an alien substance, leading to their activation and release of inflammatory molecules. This was discovered by researchers Karikó and Weissman.
- They found that to distinguish between different mRNA types, certain specific traits were necessary.
- In studies conducted in 2008 and 2010, Karikó and Weissman showed that mRNA with altered base structure greatly enhanced protein synthesis as compared to unaltered mRNA.
- By revealing that base changes both lowered inflammatory reactions and boosted protein production, Karikó and Weissman removed significant obstacles toward the clinical use of mRNA.
- “Through their fundamental discoveries of the importance of base modifications in mRNA, this year’s Nobel laureates critically contributed to this transformative development during one of the biggest health crises of our time”, according to the statement released by Nobel Assembly.
Key Breakthroughs In mRNA Vaccine Development
- Moderna and Pfizer–BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccines use mRNA to guide cells in creating the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. This triggers the body to produce antibodies.
- Historically, mRNA vaccines were thought to be impossible. This is because the body’s immune reaction would quickly destroy the introduced mRNA.
- A significant advancement came in the mid-2000s by Karikó and Weissman. They discovered that switching a molecule known as uridine with another called pseudouridine, allowed the mRNA to evade the body’s defenses.
- Using this method, the mRNA vaccines became feasible, paving the way for their application in combating COVID-19.
- The change in the type of RNA nucleotides in the vaccine also altered how cells perceive it. This increased the amount of vaccine protein produced after the RNA injection.
- Essentially, this increased the vaccine’s efficiency: it generated a more substantial response with less RNA.
- mRNA vaccines and treatments are just beginning to develop.
- Scientists and biotech firms are exploring new uses for mRNA technology.
- These uses include cancer therapies and advanced COVID-19 vaccines.
- Numerous research groups are also focusing on enhancing the methods of mRNA delivery.