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Review
. 2022 Jun 2:13:887125.
doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.887125. eCollection 2022.

mRNA Vaccines: The Dawn of a New Era of Cancer Immunotherapy

Zhuoya Deng  1 , Yuying Tian  1 , Jianxun Song  2 , Guangwen An  3 , Penghui Yang  1
Affiliations
Review

mRNA Vaccines: The Dawn of a New Era of Cancer Immunotherapy

Zhuoya Deng et al. Front Immunol. .

Abstract

mRNA therapy is a novel anticancer strategy based on in vitro transcription (IVT), which has potential for the treatment of malignant tumors. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the early 21st century has promoted the application of mRNA technologies in SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, and there has been a great deal of interest in the research and development of mRNA cancer vaccines. There has been progress in a number of key technologies, including mRNA production strategies, delivery systems, antitumor immune strategies, etc. These technologies have accelerated the progress and clinical applications of mRNA therapy, overcoming problems encountered in the past, such as instability, inefficient delivery, and weak immunogenicity of mRNA vaccines. This review provides a detailed overview of the production, delivery systems, immunological mechanisms, and antitumor immune response strategies for mRNA cancer vaccines. We list some mRNA cancer vaccines that are candidates for cancer treatment and discuss clinical trials in the field of tumor immunotherapy. In addition, we discuss the immunological mechanism of action by which mRNA vaccines destroy tumors as well as challenges and prospects for the future.

Keywords: clinical trials; delivery system; immunological mechanism; mRNA vaccine; malignant tumor.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Timeline of mRNA vaccine development.
Figure 2
Figure 2
mRNA in vitro transcription strategy. The strategy for mRNA preparation consists of template preparation, in vitro transcription, 5′ cap addition, 3′ poly(A) tailing, and purification.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Innate immune response to mRNA vaccine. After the exogenous mRNA enters the human body, it produces an innate immune response. (A) The response occurs mainly in the immune cells. Immune responses are activated though TLRs to detect PAMPs (exogenous mRNA). (B) The response occurs mainly in non-immune cells. RIG-1 and MDA5 sense the exogenous mRNA and then induce an IFN I response.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Adaptive immune response to mRNA vaccines. In the case of mRNAs encoding antigens, mRNA vaccines exert immunological effects mainly through adaptive immune responses. After mRNA vaccination, the encoded proteins will be translated and taken up by APCs, which present the antigens to CD4+ T cells via MHC II and cross-present them to MHC I on CD8+ T cells. CD4+ T cells can enhance the antitumor effects of B cells.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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