William Murphy
University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers have developed a safer and more efficient way to deliver a promising new method for treating cancer and liver disorders and for vaccination — including a COVID-19 vaccine from Moderna Therapeutics that has advanced to clinical trials with humans.
- The technology relies on inserting into cells pieces of carefully designed messenger RNA (mRNA), a strip of genetic material that human cells typically transcribe from a person’s DNA in order to make useful proteins and go about their business. Problems delivering mRNA safely and intact without running afoul of the immune system have held back mRNA-based therapy, but UW–Madison researchers are making tiny balls of minerals that appear to do the trick in mice.
- “These microparticles have pores on their surface that are on the nanometer scale that allow them to pick up and carry molecules like proteins or messenger RNA,” says William Murphy, a UW–Madison professor of biomedical engineering and orthopedics. “They mimic something commonly seen in archaeology, when we find intact protein or DNA on a bone sample or an eggshell from thousands of years ago. The mineral components helped to stabilize those molecules for all that time.”
- “What we’ve seen with the MCMs is, once the cells take up the mRNA and start making protein, that protein will bind right back within the MCM particle,” Murphy says. “Then it gets released over the course of weeks. We’re basically taking something that would normally last maybe hours or even a day, and we’re making it last for a long time.”
The Latest Updates from Bing News & Google News
Go deeper with Bing News on:
mRNA-based therapy
- Is BioNTech Stock a Buy?on March 5, 2021 at 9:44 am
When the husband-and-wife team of Dr. Ugur Sahin and Dr. Ozlem Tureci started BioNTech (NASDAQ:BNTX), they envisioned a diversified European pharmaceutical company focused on cutting-edge cancer ...
- mRNA Treatment Shows Promise for Stopping Flu and COVID-19 Viruseson March 5, 2021 at 6:47 am
The therapy is based on a type of CRISPR, which normally allows researchers to target and edit specific portions of the genetic code, to target RNA molecules. In this case, the team used mRNA ...
- Inhaled CRISPR Treatment Targets Influenza and SARS-CoV-2 Infectionson March 4, 2021 at 9:00 pm
The treatment uses a type of CRISPR to target viral RNA and appears to stop replication of both viruses in the lungs.
- As a Doctor, I Was Skeptical About the Covid Vaccine. Then I Reviewed the Science.on March 4, 2021 at 11:50 am
Until last week, I wasn’t sure I would get the vaccine. Some media reports highlight that mRNA vaccines have never been approved for use in humans outside clinical trials, making it seem like a new ...
- Easy-to-deliver mRNA treatment shows promise for stopping flu and COVID-19 viruseson March 4, 2021 at 10:59 am
With a relatively minor genetic change, a new treatment developed by researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University appears to stop replication of both flu viruses and the ...
Go deeper with Google Headlines on:
mRNA-based therapy
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Mineral-coated microparticles
- Carbohydrate polymerson February 28, 2021 at 4:00 pm
Synthesis and characterization of hydrogels based on carboxymethyl chitosan and poly(vinylpyrrolidone) blends prepared by electron beam irradiation having anticancer ...
- Medical science monitoron February 27, 2021 at 4:00 pm
Fucoxanthin and Tumor Necrosis Factor-Related Apoptosis-Inducing Ligand (TRAIL) Synergistically Promotes Apoptosis of Human Cervical Cancer Cells by Targeting PI3K/Akt/NF-κB Signaling Pathway.
- Functional and versatile superhydrophobic coatings via stoichiometric silanizationon February 12, 2021 at 2:42 am
After 2-h incubation of the mixture, the solution was diluted with 200 mL of mineral spirit ... The substrates were coated with carbon (15 nm) in this case. During the imaging, the samples ...
- Single-dose mRNA therapy via biomaterial-mediated sequestration of overexpressed proteinson February 5, 2021 at 4:00 pm
(B) Schematic for lipoplex loading onto mineral-coated microparticles (MCMs), delivery to human dermal fibroblast (hDF), and subsequent cellular uptake in vitro. (C) Representative epifluorescence ...
- Clathrate colloidal crystalson February 3, 2021 at 4:00 pm
This is making it possible to synthesize colloidal examples of many solid-state structures that naturally occur, as well as several others that have no known mineral equivalent (8, 11, 15, 16).