PLANT-BASED MRNA DELIVERY ADJUVANTS: AN OVERVIEW

  • Dr. Onkar Bharat Doke Associate Professor, Department of Pharmaceutics, Vidya Niketan College of Pharmacy, Lakhewadi, Indapur, Pune, Maharashtra
  • Dr. Samrat Ashok Khedkar Principal, Vidya Niketan College of Pharmacy, Lakhewadi, Indapur, Pune, Maharashtra
  • Sakshi Vikas Bhuite Student, Vidya Niketan College of Pharmacy, Lakhewadi, Indapur, Pune, Maharashtra
  • Pravin Laxman Bhong Student, Vidya Niketan College of Pharmacy, Lakhewadi, Indapur, Pune, Maharashtra
  • Shivanjali Dilip Bhagat Student, Vidya Niketan College of Pharmacy, Lakhewadi, Indapur, Pune, Maharashtra
  • Pratibha Jaykumar Bhardwaj Student, Vidya Niketan College of Pharmacy, Lakhewadi, Indapur, Pune, Maharashtra
DOI: https://doi.org/10.53555/bs.v11i5.6532
Keywords: mRNA, vaccine, plant derived, immune response, delivery carriers

Abstract

Messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines are a new and powerful type of vaccine that can be quickly designed to protect against infectious diseases and cancer. Even though they are very effective, mRNA vaccines face some challenges, such as instability of mRNA, difficulty in delivering it into cells, and controlling the immune response. To solve these problems, scientists are exploring natural solutions, especially from plants. Plants produce many bioactive compounds such as saponins, polysaccharides, flavonoids, and natural nanoparticles that can help improve mRNA delivery and strengthen immune responses. These plant-derived substances can act as adjuvants, which boost the immune response, or as delivery carriers, which protect mRNA and help it enter cells. Plant-based systems are attractive because they are generally safe, biodegradable, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly. In mRNA vaccines, immune activation can occur in three main ways: through the mRNA itself, through the delivery system such as lipid nanoparticles, and through added immune-stimulating substances. Plant-derived adjuvants can support all these mechanisms by activating immune cells and improving antigen presentation. New plant-based approaches, including plant virus nanoparticles and plant-derived extracellular vesicles, are being studied as alternatives to synthetic delivery systems. Overall, plant-based adjuvants and delivery platforms offer a promising strategy to make mRNA vaccines safer, more stable, and more affordable. With further research and standardization, these natural systems may play an important role in the future development of vaccines and mRNA-based therapies.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

1. Pardi N, Hogan MJ, Porter FW, Weissman D. mRNA vaccines- a new era in vaccinology. Nat Rev Drug Discov. 2018; 17: 261-279.
2. Kensil CR, Patel U, Lennick M, Marciani D. Separation and characterization of saponins with adjuvant activity from Quillaja saponaria. J Immunol.1991; 146: 431-437.
3. Mu J, Zhuang X, Zhang L. Plant exosome-like nanoparticles for mRNA and drug delivery to mammalian cells. Mol Ther. 2014; 22: 2110-2120.
4. Mu X, Greenwald E, Kanneganti TD. The role of innate sensing in mRNA vaccine immunogenicity. Nat Rev Immunol. 2022; 22: 75-88.
5. Maggini S, Pierre A, Calder PC. Immune function and micronutrient requirements change over the life course. Nutr. 2018; 10: 1531.
6. Ndeupen S, Qin Z, Jacobsen S. The mRNA-LNP platform’s lipid nanoparticle component used in preclinical vaccine studies is highly inflammatory.sci. 2021; 24(12): 103479.
7. Hou X, Zaks T, Langer R, Dong Y. Lipid nanoparticles for mRNA delivery. Nat Rev Mater. 2021; 6: 1078-1094.
8. Kranz LM, Diken M, Haas H, Kreiter S, Loquai C, Reuter KC. Systemic RNA delivery to dendritic cells exploits antiviral defence for cancer immunotherapy.Nat. 2016; 534 (7607): 396-401.
9. Zhang C, Maruggi G, Shan H, Li J. Advances in self-amplifying mRNA vaccines. Vaccines. 2019; 7(3): 72.
10. Schlake T Thess A, Fotin Mleczek M, Kallen KJ. Developing mRNA vaccine technologies. RNA Biol. 2012; 9(11): 1319-1330.
11. Weissman D. mRNA transcript therapy.Immun. 2015; 43(3): 332-343.
12. Dolgin E. The tangled history of mRNA vaccines. Nat. 2021; 597 (7876): 318-324.
13. Karikó K, Buckstein M, Ni H, Weissman D. Suppression of RNA recognition by toll like receptors the impact of nucleoside modification and the evolutionary origin of RNA. Immun. 2005; 23(2): 165-175.
14. Furuichi Y, Shatkin AJ. Viral and cellular mRNA capping:Past and prospects.Adv Virus Res. 2000; 55: 135-184.
15. Di SottoA, VitaloneA, Di Giacomo S. Plant-derived nutraceuticals and immune system modulation an evidence-based overview. Vaccines. 2020; 8(3): 468.
16. Abbas AK, Lichtman AH, Pillai S. Cellular and Molecular Immunology. 9th edition Elsevier. 2018: 45.
17. Chaplin DD. Overview of the immune response. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2010; 125(2): 3.
18. Stohs SJ, Bagchi D. Antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and chemoprotective properties of Acacia catechu Heartwood extracts. Phytother Res. 2015; 29: 818-824.
19. Chen D, Chen G, Ding Y, Wan P, Peng Y, Chen C, Ye H, Zeng X, Ran L. Polysaccharides from the flowers of tea (Camellia sinensis L.) modulates gut health and ameliorate Cyclophosphamide-induced immune suppression. J Funct Food. 2019; 61: 103470.
20. Rahayu RP, Prasetyo RA, Purwanto DA, Kresnoadi U, Iskandar RPD, Rubianto M. The immunomodulatory effect of green tea (Camellia Sinensis) leaves extract on immune compromised wistar rats infected by Candida Albicans. Vet. World. 2018; 11: 765-770.
21. Mollazadeh H, Cicero AFG, Blesso CN, Pirro M, Majeed M, Sahebkar A. Immune modulation by curcumin: The role of interleukin-10. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2019; 59: 89-101.
22. Ali BH, Blunden G, Tanira MO, Nemmar A. Some phytochemical, pharmacological and toxicological properties of ginger (Zingiber Officinale Roscoe): A review of recent research. Food Chem Toxicol. 2008; 46: 409-420.
23. Barbier AJ, Jiang AY, Zhang P, Anderson DG. The clinical progress of mRNA vaccines and immunotherapies. Nat Biotechnol. 2022; 40: 840-854.
24. Sahin U, Karikó K, & Türeci Ö. mRNA-based therapeutics-developing a new class of drugs. Nat Rev Drug Discov. 2014; 13(10): 759-780.
25. Wang YS, Kumari M, Chen GH, Hong MH, Yuan JPY, Tsai JL, Wu HC. mRNA-based vaccines and therapeutics: An in-depth survey of current and upcoming clinical applications. J Biomed Sci. 2023; 30: 84.
26. Zhu M, Zhu L, Wang X, Jin H. Routes of vaccine administration: advantages and challenges. Hum VaccinImmunother. 2021; 17(11): 4226-4234.
27. Lycke N. Recent progress in mucosal vaccine development potential and limitations. Nat Rev Immunol. 2012; 12(8): 592-605.
28. Nicolas JF, Guy B. Intradermal, epidermal and transcutaneous vaccination from immunology to clinical practice. Human Vaccine. 2008; 4(3): 195-205.
29. Pardi N, Tuyishime S, Muramatsu H, Kariko K, Mui BL, Tam YK, Madden TD, Hope MJ, Weissman, D. Expression kinetics of nucleoside-modified mRNA delivered in lipid nanoparticles to mice by various routes. J Control Release. 2015; 217: 345-351.
30. Malla RR, Srilatha M, Farran B, Nagaraju GP. mRNA vaccines and their delivery strategies: A journey from infectious diseases to cancer. Mol Ther. 2024; 32(1): 13-31.
31. Henao-Restrepo AM, Camacho A, Longini IM. Efficacy and effectiveness of an rVSV-vectored vaccine in preventing Ebola virus disease: final results from the Guinea ring vaccination, open-label, cluster-randomised trial. The Lancet. 2017; 389(10068): 505-518.
32. Lundstrom K.Viral vectors in vaccine development. Viruses. 2018; 10(1): 15.
33. Sun H, Zhang Y, Wang G, Yang W, Xu Y. mRNA-based therapeutics in cancer treatment. Pharmaceutics. 2023; 15(2): 622.
34. Fernández-Tejada A, Tan DS, Gin DY. Development of improved vaccine adjuvants based on the saponin natural product QS-21 through chemical synthesis. Acc Chem Res. 2016; 49(9): 1741-1756.
35. Lebel M-È, Chartrand K, Leclerc D, Lamarre A. Plant viruses as nanoparticle-based vaccines and adjuvants. Vaccines. 2015; 3(3): 620-637.
36. Magnusson SE, Reimer J, Karlsson KH. Immune enhancing properties of novel saponin-based adjuvants and their potential integration with lipid nanoparticles in vaccine formulations. Vaccine. 2013; 31(12): 173-181.
37. Zhao L, Steinmetz NF. Plant viral nanoparticles for packaging and in vivo delivery of bioactive cargos: platforms for antigen/adjuvant presentation and immunomodulation. Adv Drug Deliv Rev. 2020; 156: 214-227.
38. Pomatto MAC, Gai C, Negro F, Massari L, Deregibus MC. Oral delivery of mRNA vaccine by plant-derived extracellular vesicle carriers. Cells. 2023; 12(14): 1826.
39. Magnusson SE, Natama MH, Somé A. Matrix-M adjuvant: combining plant-derived saponins with lipid moieties to boost immune responses in modern vaccine platforms. Hum VaccinImmunother. 2023; 19(1): 213-223.
40. Tizard IR. Adjuvants and adjuvanticity. Vet Immunol Immunopathol. 2007; 117(3-4): 195-204.
41. Lico C, Mancini C, Italiani P, Betti C, Boraschi D, Benvenuto, E. Plant-produced virus-like particles as vaccines and immunotherapeutics. Hum VaccinImmunother. 2015; 11(12): 2751-2763.
Published
2025-12-30
How to Cite
Dr. Onkar Bharat Doke, Dr. Samrat Ashok Khedkar, Sakshi Vikas Bhuite, Pravin Laxman Bhong, Shivanjali Dilip Bhagat, & Pratibha Jaykumar Bhardwaj. (2025). PLANT-BASED MRNA DELIVERY ADJUVANTS: AN OVERVIEW. IJRDO - JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE, 11(5), 22-31. https://doi.org/10.53555/bs.v11i5.6532
Issue
Vol. 11 No. 5 (2025): IJRDO - JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE (ISSN: 2455-7676)
Section
Articles

Copyright (c) 2025 IJRDO - JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Author(s) and co-author(s) jointly and severally represent and warrant that the Article is original with the author(s) and does not infringe any copyright or violate any other right of any third parties, and that the Article has not been published elsewhere. Author(s) agree to the terms that the IJRDO Journal will have the full right to remove the published article on any misconduct found in the published article.