Tech Briefs Magazine - February 2024 - 41

MOTION CONTROL CHANNEL
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By adding synergistic self-adjuvanting properties to COVID-19 RNA vaccines,
MIT researchers have found a new approach that could lead to intranasal
vaccines for COVID-19 and other respiratory diseases. (Image:
Jose-Luis Olivares, MIT, with figures from iStock)
positively charged when they enter acidic environments. The
original COVID RNA vaccines also included some ionizable
lipids because they help the nanoparticles to self-assemble
with RNA and they help target cells to take up the vaccine.
" We understood that nanoparticles themselves could be
immunostimulatory, but we weren't quite sure what the
chemistry was that was needed to optimize that response.
So instead of trying to make the perfect one, we made a
library and evaluated them, and through that we identified
some chemistries that seemed to improve their response, "
Anderson said.
The researchers tested their new vaccine, which included
both RNA-encoded C3d and a top-performing ionizable lipid
identified from their library screen, in mice. They found
that mice injected with this vaccine produced 10 times more
antibodies than mice given unadjuvanted COVID RNA vaccines.
The new vaccine also provoked a stronger response
among T cells, which play important roles in combating the
SARS-CoV-2 virus.
" For the first time, we've demonstrated a synergistic boost
in immune responses by engineering both the RNA and
its delivery vehicles, " said University of Toronto Assistant
Professor Bowen Li. " This prompted us to investigate the
feasibility of administering this new RNA vaccine platform
intranasally, considering the challenges presented by the
mucociliary blanket barrier in the upper airways. "
When the researchers delivered the vaccine intranasally,
they observed a similarly strong immune response in the
mice. If developed for use in people, an intranasal vaccine
could potentially offer enhanced protection against infection
because it would generate an immune response within
the mucosal tissues that line the nasal passages and lungs.
Because self-adjuvanting vaccines elicit a stronger response
at a lower dose, this approach could also help to
reduce the cost of vaccine doses, which might allow them
to reach more people, especially in developing nations, the
researchers said.
For more information, contact Sarah McDonnell at s_mcd@
mit.edu; 617-253-8923.
Tech Briefs, February 2024
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Tech Briefs Magazine - February 2024

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