New mRNA therapy could repair damaged lungs

Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania, Rutgers University, and East China University of Science and Technology in Shanghai have shown that a combination of messenger RNA (mRNA) and a new lipid nanoparticle could help heal damaged lungs. The researchers matched up mRNA with just one unique lipid nanoparticle – ionizable amphiphilic Janus dendrimers – which are organ-specific. When it reaches the lung, the mRNA instructs the immune system to create transforming growth factor beta, a signaling molecule that is used to repair tissue. “This research marks the birth of a new mRNA delivery platform,” said 2023 Nobel laureate Drew Weissman, a co-author of the study. “While using other lipid nanoparticles works great to prevent infectious diseases, … this new platform does not have to be stored at such extremely cold temperatures and is even easier to produce.”