Two weeks ago, Japan became the first country in the world to approve a new self-amplifying mRNA (“sa-mRNA”) vaccine. With approval for the vaccine secured in Japan, its developers are now seeking authorisation in Europe; a regulatory decision is expected next year.
Self-amplifying RNA (“saRNA”) is engineered to make more copies of itself once delivered into cells. It encodes both the antigen of interest – for example, the covid spike protein – and proteins which enable vaccine RNA replication.
…Kostaive encodes four extra proteins, in addition to the coronavirus spike protein, enabling amplification of the original strand of RNA once inside the cell. The replication machinery, the extra proteins, is taken from a virus known as Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus which is a mosquito-borne pathogen.
The reason for this new type of vaccine is “because it could be used at a lower dose so it might have fewer side effects than other messenger RNA (mRNA) treatments have,” an article published in Nature said. The other reason, as Portland Press noted, is to lower the cost of the vaccines.
The difference between a covid mRNA vaccine and a covid saRNA vaccine is that with the former, a cell’s machinery produces the spike protein for as long as these instructions persist while the saRNA goes a step further. “It integrates the genes needed for the replication and synthesis of the spike protein-encoding RNA, effectively establishing a biological printing press for fabricating the vaccine inside cells,” Nature noted.
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