Treatment of bacterial infections

Schematic description of one of the approaches in the NanoBiCAR project: Nanoparticles, (1) carrying mRNA molecules that encode a genetically modified protein that activates the immune system, are introduced into the system and taken up by white blood cells formed in the bone marrow (2). These cells produce the protein from the mRNA molecules and secrete it (3). The secreted protein has a dual binding ability: on the one hand, it binds the cells infected with the tuberculosis bacterium (4) or the bacterium itself (5), and on the other hand, it binds killer white blood cells from the immune system (6). The dual binding activates inflammatory and immune processes (6) and ultimately leads to the killing of the cells infected with the bacterium or the elimination of the bacterium itself (7).

mRNA – from vaccines to the fight against tuberculosis

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Researchers from the Technion's Faculty of Biology will develop a new approach to combat infectious diseases as part of the European consortium NanoBiCar. This is the first attempt to use mRNA molecules for tuberculosis and other bacterial diseases in light of the difficult problem of bacterial resistance.