mRNA vaccine

An mRNA vaccine is a type of <a href="/facts/Vaccine/QcXzLug2">vaccine</a> that uses a copy of a molecule called <a href="/facts/Messenger_RNA/oUL6qxQn">messenger RNA</a> (mRNA) to produce an immune response. The vaccine <a href="/facts/RNA_transfection/KY3tfNdV">delivers</a> molecules of <a href="/facts/Antigen/9JlAernG">antigen</a>-encoding mRNA into <a href="/facts/Cell_(biology)/bLM9UQvy">cells</a>, which use the designed mRNA as a blueprint to build foreign <a href="/facts/Protein/Jxmagu3E">protein</a> that would normally be produced by a <a href="/facts/Pathogen/axMXtV1M">pathogen</a> (such as a <a href="/facts/Virus/mf88Bcbl">virus</a>) or by a <a href="/facts/Cancer_cell/HXSQQjhw">cancer cell</a>. These protein molecules stimulate an <a href="/facts/Adaptive_immune_response/bc7zT1Jo">adaptive immune response</a> that teaches the body to identify and destroy the corresponding pathogen or cancer cells. The mRNA is <a href="/facts/Drug_delivery/vDfboXeT">delivered</a> by a co-formulation of the <a href="/facts/RNA/HxPeNfNj">RNA</a> encapsulated in <a href="/facts/Lipid_nanoparticles/h9poKr1E">lipid nanoparticles</a> that protect the RNA strands and help their absorption into the cells.

<a href="/facts/Reactogenicity/0pjrBIyf">Reactogenicity</a>, the tendency of a vaccine to produce adverse reactions, is similar to that of conventional non-RNA vaccines. People susceptible to an <a href="/facts/Autoimmunity/5cASmcfI">autoimmune response</a> may have an adverse reaction to messenger RNA vaccines. The advantages of mRNA vaccines over traditional vaccines are ease of design, speed and lower cost of production, the induction of both <a href="/facts/Cellular_immunity/vPX39rt1">cellular</a> and <a href="/facts/Humoral_immunity/qG9I4pGf">humoral immunity</a>, and lack of interaction with the <a href="/facts/Genomic_DNA/UeLsDBlw">genomic DNA</a>. While some messenger RNA vaccines, such as the <a href="/facts/Pfizer%25E2%2580%2593BioNTech_COVID-19_vaccine/T0AYCJ9p">Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine</a>, have the disadvantage of requiring <a href="/facts/ULT_freezer/a8m0d51y">ultracold storage</a> before distribution, other mRNA vaccines, such as the <a href="/facts/Moderna_vaccine/2rlX6oWc">Moderna vaccine</a>, do not have such requirements.
In <a href="/facts/RNA_therapeutics/a8gBG873">RNA therapeutics</a>, messenger RNA vaccines have attracted considerable interest as <a href="/facts/COVID-19_vaccine/obToxWTT">COVID-19 vaccines</a>. In December 2020, <a href="/facts/BioNTech/8f9h6cwq">Pfizer–BioNTech</a> and <a href="/facts/Moderna/tjjjJqNs">Moderna</a> obtained authorization for their mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines. On 2 December, the UK <a href="/facts/Medicines_and_Healthcare_products_Regulatory_Agency/6T727R0c">Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency</a> (MHRA) became the <a href="/facts/Timeline_of_human_vaccines/vBupq0T9">first</a> <a href="/facts/Regulation_of_therapeutic_goods/ekrFg7EP">medicines regulator</a> to approve an mRNA vaccine, authorizing the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine for widespread use. On 11 December, the US <a href="/facts/Food_and_Drug_Administration/rCEnh9WB">Food and Drug Administration</a> (FDA) issued an <a href="/facts/Emergency_Use_Authorization/8rKfuV7l">emergency use authorization</a> for the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine and a week later similarly authorized the Moderna vaccine. In 2023 the <a href="/facts/Nobel_Prize_in_Physiology_or_Medicine/rlnpJX84">Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine</a> was awarded to <a href="/facts/Katalin_Karik%25C3%25B3/6d4f0643">Katalin Karikó</a> and <a href="/facts/Drew_Weissman/DCMSLh5T">Drew Weissman</a> for their discoveries concerning <a href="/facts/Nucleoside_analogue/DEr9cQYD">modified nucleosides</a> that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19.

mRNA vaccine open-in-new

mRNA vaccine