Chinese Scientists Systematically Evaluate State of mRNA Vaccines—Expect a ‘Revolution’
Chinese researchers led by Xia Guo and Xinghong Gao at Zunyi Medical University in Guizhou province in the mountainous southwest of the People’s Republic of China and colleagues recently conducted a survey of the rapidly developed mRNA vaccine technology during the COVID-19 pandemic. Reporting that the breakthroughs have opened up new doors of mRNA research targeting other viral vaccines, particularly for non-replication structure mRNA vaccines of viral disease.
The current review centers on the existing mRNA vaccines, “which are of great value for candidates for clinical applications in viral diseases.” How are the current early generation of mRNA vaccines and their vaccine development process getting optimized? Why are mRNA immunomodulators important in the treatment of viral diseases? How can vaccine developers ensure in the future that mRNA vaccines employed for use in clinical medicine are
A) more stable
B) offer higher translation efficiency,
C) lead to superior immune efficacy and safety,
D) involve even more compressed production time as well as E) lower production costs than traditional vaccines? What about serious adverse events? What breakthroughs can improve the track record? What’s the outlook for use of mRNA vaccines as part of “preventive or therapeutic” strategies to control diseases in the future?
Considered “third generation” vaccines, the reason for the big push of this technology includes A) ability for rapid response to pathogen mutation, B) simple production process and C) easy scalability, according to the Chinese study authors. Although this media has questions on some of these assumptions such as ease of production process.
Now widely used around the world (perhaps a key goal underlying the massive response to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic) the authors in this entry in Virology Journal first breakdown mRNA vaccines—what they are, their mechanism of action, etc.
With the “theoretical capacity to produce any protein,” the confluence of positive forces leads to promising future, even 'revolutionary' vaccines, the authors. But challenges persist.
For example, a major “stumbling block” for the industry involves the lack of stability associated with single-stranded mRNA—as soon as it enters the organism it is “identified and degraded by pattern recognition receptor (PRR), leading to “huge” development challenges associated with mRNA.
Safety Issues Remain a Challenge
Also, the authors acknowledge the safety issues mounting with the novel vaccines on the market. They declare “…some adverse events of mRNA vaccines, such as hepatitis, allergic reactions caused by polyethylene glycol (PEG), and viral reactivation, still require researchers to continuously improve vaccine production technologies or delivery systems continuously.”
So what techniques are being used to ensure superior, more stable outcomes?
It turns out “several techniques” have emerged leading to more stable mRNAs as the biotechnology both “develops and matures.” Some of these advances the authors discuss:
Synthetic structure-modified RNAs are used to replace natural RNAs to synthesize mRNAs that can evade recognition by the body's immune system as "non-self" components and be eliminated such as pseudouridine (Ψ). Moderna has incorporated this strategy for mRNA-1273.
5' cap structures, 3' poly(A) tails, and UTR sequences can also stabilize mRNA and thus increase translation efficiency, such as optimization in these regions used in Pfizer-BioNTech’s BNT162b2.
The authors argue that advanced new formulation methods such as lipid nanoparticles can help protect mRNA and trigger immune response—an example is the LMP used in Moderna’s mRNA-1388.
So based on a systematic review of existing mRNA vaccines with prospective potential in the clinic targeting viral diseases, the authors attempt to develop and impart a “theoretical reference” for mRNA vaccine research targeting viral diseas
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COVID-19 Spike Protein Accumulates in the Skull-Meninges-Brain Axis: Is the Vaccine’s Induced Spike Protein a Risk as Well?
A large team of researchers mostly from German academic medical centers including Institute for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine (iTERM), Helmholtz Center Munich and Institute for Stroke and Dementia Research, Klinikum der Universität München, Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich but also Denmark investigated neurological issues associated with SARS-CoV-2, the virus behind COVID-19.
From brain fog to brain tissue loss, the pandemic raised concern about COVID-19’s acute and potential chronic impact on the central nervous system. Designing the study to make use of mouse models and human post-mortem tissue-based studies, the Europe-based team investigated the presence and distribution of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in what’s known as the “skull-meninges-brain axis.”
What did they find? It turns out the spike protein does accumulate in the skull marrow, brain meninges and brain parenchyma. When injecting the spike protein in this series of lab experiments researchers report that “the spike protein alone caused cell death in the brain” which suggests a “direct effect on brain tissue.” But even in the deceased when conducting post-mortem analyses the study authors report the “presence of spike protein in the skull of deceased long after their COVID infection. Could the spike protein contribute to long-term neurological symptoms?
More Details
In this fascinating yet not yet peer reviewed output, the study team represented by corresponding author Ali Ertürk reports:
“The spike protein was associated with neutrophil-related pathways and dysregulation of the proteins involved in the PI3K-AKT as well as complement and coagulation pathway.”
Could it be that the spike protein associated with COVID-19 shuttles from the central nervous system borders into the brain parenchyma, and that identified differently regulated pathways suggests neurological insights into underlying mechanisms of the pathogen. Also, the unfortunate prospect of lawn-term consequences of SARS-CoV-2 and present diagnostic and therapeutic opportunities.
And what about vaccination? Given the mRNA vaccines instruct the body to produce the spike protein could some of the neurological problems reported, albeit rare, can add up given over 270 million people received their primary series in the United States.
In fact the research team pointed out that “The lack of evidence for the viral presence and especially viral replication in the brain led to the hypothesis that virus shed proteins circulating in the bloodstream may promote an inflammatory response independent of direct viral infection of the affected organs, including the brain. Notably, the highly immunogenic spike protein, also used in COVID-19 vaccines, might be a candidate for triggering infection-independent effects.
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Senator Rand Paul Proposes Legislation to Reform “Fauci’s NIH”
Republican Rand Paul of Kentucky has had a continuing feud with not only Dr. Anthony Fauci but the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as well, seeking transparency and answers to questions about gain-of-function and SARS-CoV-2 origins. Paul has repeatedly accused Fauci and the NIH of funding gain of function research at the Wuhan Lab through the non-profit EcoHealth Alliance. Wuhan keeps surfacing as a possible source of the Covid pandemic. EcoHealth Alliance received taxpayer money from the NIH, actually serving as an intermediary to Wuhan Virology Institute. Paul has also questioned Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) regarding royalties paid to Fauci and a possible conflict of interest.
Paul wanted to know why the NIH redacts all the data associated with royalty payments, including employee name, amount, and associated company. Fauci claimed according to regulations, these details don’t have to be revealed. But Paul focused more on gain of function and is now taking steps to curtail both gain of function and what the Kentucky senator labeled Anthony Fauci’s “abuse of office”.
NIH Reform Act
In an op-ed for Fox News, Paul lays out his plan to reform what he calls “Fauci’s NIH”. According to Paul, Fauci “headed the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) for over 38 years, and by the time he retired he was drawing the largest salary in the entire federal government.” Paul writes, “Though the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic are still unknown, some scientists believe it may have begun in a lab. If so, the virus may have developed from a research method like the ones Dr. Fauci was bankrolling.
The American people deserve better. That’s why I recently introduced the NIH Reform Act to divide the NIAID into three parts that align with its stated mission ‘to better understand, treat, and ultimately prevent infectious, immunologic, and allergic diseases.' The three new agencies would be the National Institute of Allergic Diseases, the National Institute of Infectious Diseases and the National Institute of Immunologic Diseases.
Paul compares Fauci’s time in office and his power to that of J. Edgar Hoover, the founder and former head of the FBI. Paul points out how Hoover had amassed a lot of power and much of what the FBI director did was unconstitutional and “few were brave enough to speak out against them.”
Working with Rep. Chip Roy
Paul has introduced the NIH Reform Act with Representative Chip Roy, Republican of Texas. In order to limit the power of the new heads of the agencies the director of each institute would be appointed by the president, confirmed by the Senate and not permitted to serve more than two terms of five years. As Paul points out in his press release, “This type of reorganization is nothing new.
For example, in the aftermath of J. Edgar Hoover’s decades-long tenure as head of the FBI, Congress passed a law in 1976 limiting the FBI Director to a single 10-year term, and as recently as 2012, Congress eliminated one center within the NIH and replaced it with a new one.
In the aftermath of the damage done by pandemic-era mandates and restrictions, Congress must enact the NIH Reform Act to ensure that one official cannot claim the unquestioned authority to dictate the governmental responses to public health questions.” Given Rand Paul’s history with Anthony Fauci it will be interesting to see how a split Congress will react to Paul’s NIH Reform Act.
https://www.trialsitenews.com/a/senator-rand-paul-proposes-legislation-to-reform-faucis-nih-0c1519a7
****************************************************Also see my other blogs. Main ones below:
http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)
http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)
http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH) Also here
http://australian-politics.blogspot.com (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)
http://snorphty.blogspot.com (TONGUE-TIED)
https://immigwatch.blogspot.com (IMMIGRATION WATCH) Also here
https://awesternheart.blogspot.com (THE PSYCHOLOGIST)
http://jonjayray.com/blogall.html More blogs
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