• Cancer vaccines based on self-replicating RNA
  • Agrin mansouri,1,*
    1. Department of Cell and Molecular Biology and Microbiology, Faculty of Biological Science and Technology, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran.


  • Introduction: Introduction: Therapeutic vaccines for cancer that specifically target certain genes within the immune system employ preexisting platforms for their delivery. One prominent platform utilized is messenger RNA (mRNA), which has demonstrated success in SARS-CoV2 vaccines
  • Methods: Methoda: A review of articles from two databases, PubMed and Scopus, was conducted, and by considering articles with a high impact factor, the most frequently used articles were extracted. The content is presented in three parts, including the AVX-701 engineered vaccine, the PSMA-carrying vaccine, and the HER2 anti-cancer vaccine.
  • Results: Results:These vectors are derived from positive strand RNA viruses. Within these vectors, the coding genes of the structural genes are substituted for the intended application. In order to generate virus particles possessing only a single replication capacity (VRPs), structural providers are employed within a distinct and specialized vector. The srRNA vectors that have reached the clinical stage are derived from alphaviruses such as Venezuelan equine encephalitis (VEE) and African SFV. These carriers harbor codes that correspond to specific tumor antigens. Among these genetic codes are those for carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), human epidermal growth factor receptor number 2 (HER2), prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA), as well as the antigens produced by the human papilloma virus (HPV), namely E6 and E7. The primary side effects associated with this particular type of vaccine primarily consist of grade 1 toxicity and milder reactions at the injection site. This article presents a comprehensive review of the clinical responses to this type of vaccine and provides relevant information pertaining to the safety of these vaccines.
  • Conclusion: Clinical trials of self-replicating RNA (srRNA) vaccines using virus-mimicking particles show a favorable safety profile and minimal toxicity. Despite the emergence of neutralizing antibodies specific for similar virus particles, a high level of antigen-specific T and B cell responses is induced. Fully synthetic srRNAs show promise in enhancing immune responses when used as part of primary boosting strategies. The absence of the virus shell in these nanoparticles reduces the anti-carrier immunity and allows for insidious dosingand facilitates the inclusion of several larger genes of interest into the vector.Furthermore, the experience gained from the development of srRNA and their delivery vehicles for infectious diseases promises significant potential for the future development of srRNA platforms for the treatment of malignancies.
  • Keywords: Keywords: srRNA vaccine, VRP, PSMA, HER2, cancer