![]() ![]() Now, a group of researchers at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University has discovered a new class of immunostimulatory dsRNAs that potently induces the production of two forms of IFN (IFN-I and IFN-III) while limiting the inflammation commonly observed with previous types of RNA-based immunostimulants. Viral RNA analogs can also activate molecular pathways that lead to excessive inflammation in the body, which could cause more harm than their antiviral benefits. ![]() But meddling with the innate immune system is a double-edged sword. Scientists have attempted to harness this natural antiviral response by creating therapeutic dsRNAs that mimic features of viral genomes. When the human immune system detects the presence of this foreign RNA, it sounds the alarm by increasing the production of protective cytokines called interferons (IFN), which activate the innate immune response against viral invaders. Many types of non-living viruses, however, carry their genetic information in a double-stranded form of RNA (dsRNA). (BOSTON) - RNA is often described as the single-stranded cousin of DNA, the double-stranded molecule that makes up the genomes of all living organisms. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University ![]() Novel immunostimulatory dsRNAs activate antiviral responses against multiple pandemic viruses in mouse and human organ chip modelsīy Lindsay Brownell The introduction of the novel dsRNAs into living cells induces IFN-I production in cells’ nuclei (right, in light blue), while the introduction of scrambled control dsRNA does not (left). ![]()
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