3 things you might not know about RNA therapies

Let’s unwrap some facts about RNA👇

DNA holds all our genetic information and stays safely locked inside the cell’s nucleus. It contains the blueprint for building proteins that keep our bodies functioning (e.g. hemoglobin that carries oxygen, insulin that helps control blood sugar). Since proteins are built outside the nucleus, the cell makes a temporary copy of just the needed instructions. The copy, called messenger RNA (mRNA), carries the information from the nucleus to the cytoplasm to enable the protein to be produced. Once its job is done, the mRNA is quickly broken down by the cell’s machinery before being recycled (8,9).

RNA therapies build on this natural system to treat disease.

Canada has played an important role in developing these technologies. Researchers at the University of British Columbia, including Pieter Cullis and colleagues, helped develop lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) – tiny delivery vehicles that protect RNA and help it enter cells. This innovation made modern mRNA vaccines and several RNA medicines possible.

Other Canadian scientists also helped unlock how RNA works, including discoveries about mRNA translation at McGill University and RNA splicing at the University of Toronto and Université de Sherbrooke.

Today, RNA therapies are being explored for rare diseases, cancer, infectious diseases, and more.

This post was made in collaboration with the Bridge Research Consortium.