Advances in mRNA Vaccines for Infectious Diseases

Shlok Jindal

Abstract


Vaccines play a crucial role in safeguarding global health. While traditional vaccine methods have been effective against various bacterial and viral diseases, there are instances where they have fallen short. This includes persistent infections, rapidly mutating pathogens with high genetic variability, intricate viral antigens, and emerging diseases. However, innovative technologies like nucleic acid vaccines have the potential to revolutionize vaccine development by overcoming these limitations. Messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines have emerged as a promising platform for the prevention of infectious diseases.

Unlike conventional vaccines that rely on attenuated pathogens or recombinant proteins, mRNA vaccines use a synthetic RNA molecule encoding an antigen of interest. Once delivered into host cells, the mRNA is translated into the antigenic protein, which subsequently triggers immune responses. In this article, we discuss about the basic structure of mRNA vaccines, their mechanisms of immune activation, delivery technologies such as lipid nanoparticles, manufacturing strategies, and ongoing clinical developments. The potential benefits of mRNA vaccine platforms are substantial, but challenges related to stability, delivery efficiency, and global accessibility remain important considerations.


Keywords


mRNA vaccine, T cell response, Immunogenicity, B cells, Pathogens, Vaccine.

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