Demystifying mRNA

Lately, there’s been a lot of talk (often misinformed) about mRNA. It’s been the subject of headlines, controversy, and even political decisions about what science gets funded.

Let’s be clear: mRNA, short for messenger ribonucleic acid, is not an obscure lab invention but an essential molecule that exists in every living cell, in every plant, animal, and human. In fact, right now, at any given moment while you’re reading this, the cells of your body are likely producing more than 100,000 different types of mRNA molecules.

Think of a cell as a factory. Like any good factory, it needs detailed instructions to build its products. In this case, the “products” are proteins, the molecules that do virtually everything in the body, from carrying oxygen in your blood to fighting infections and repairing tissues. The instruction manual to produce these proteins is your DNA, stored safely in the “archives” of the cell’s control center, the nucleus. But just like in any real factory, you don’t take the original instruction manual out onto the floor. Instead, the cell creates a working copy of just the section it needs. That working copy is the mRNA.

mRNA carries the specific instructions from the DNA archive to the ribosomes, which read the mRNA’s instructions and assemble the protein, piece by piece. Once the protein is built, the mRNA is no longer needed. It’s quickly broken down and recycled, making way for new instructions as your body’s needs change.

Scientists have studied mRNA for decades to understand how life works at the molecular level. What’s relatively newer is our ability to use mRNA as a tool, for example, to develop vaccines. This breakthrough, in fact, was recognized with a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2023 awarded to Dr. Katalin Karikó and amfAR grantee Dr. Drew Weissman, whose foundational research in mRNA technology helped pave the way for today’s life-saving mRNA vaccines​. That pioneering spirit continues today with researchers like Dr. Yiming Yin, a current amfAR grantee, who is exploring novel mRNA-based strategies to advance HIV treatment and prevention.

The COVID-19 vaccines that used mRNA saved millions of lives worldwide by delivering a small, harmless piece of mRNA into your body to teach your immune system what a virus looks like, so it’s ready to defend you if the real virus shows up. This technology was decades in the making and is now being adapted to target other viruses, cancers, and rare genetic diseases.

To dismiss or restrict mRNA-based research now isn’t just scientifically indefensible…it’s dangerous. mRNA isn’t controversial. It’s life, it’s biology. Understanding and using it responsibly is how we turn knowledge into cures.

At amfAR, we remain committed to supporting rigorous, life-saving science, wherever it leads us. That includes continuing to explore mRNA’s vast potential in the fight against HIV and beyond.

Dr. Gramatica is a vice president and director of research at amfAR.

---