{"id":64209,"date":"2022-11-15T12:38:47","date_gmt":"2022-11-15T17:38:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/?post_type=r_cas_magazine&p=64209"},"modified":"2022-12-05T14:15:21","modified_gmt":"2022-12-05T19:15:21","slug":"the-next-use-for-mrna","status":"publish","type":"r_cas_magazine","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/arts-sciences\/fall-2022\/the-next-use-for-mrna\/","title":{"rendered":"The Next Use for mRNA?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Biologist Ana Fiszbein studies gene expression\u2014how mRNA transmits genetic blueprints from the DNA in the heart of a cell, the nucleus, to its construction site, the cytoplasm. Photo by Cydney Scott (Fiszbein); iStock\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

By Andrew Thurston<\/p>\n

Among the many acronyms and initialisms that the coronavirus has thrown into our lives\u2014COVID-19, PPE\u2014one of the most promising is mRNA. It\u2019s shorthand for messenger ribonucleic acid, a molecule found in our cells that transmits the essential genetic instructions to build, maintain, and repair our bodies. A lab-made mRNA has been powering lifesaving COVID vaccines.<\/p>\n

Now researchers are delving into other potential uses for the technology, such as vaccines for Zika and malaria, as well as therapies for sickle cell anemia and cystic fibrosis. Biologist Ana Fiszbein<\/a> is exploring mRNA\u2019s potential to treat\u2014and prevent\u2014a disease that kills more than 600,000 Americans every year: cancer.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my family, there\u2019s a lot of cancer history,\u201d says Fiszbein, an assistant professor and Innovation Career Development Professor who joined CAS in January 2021. \u201cIf I can do anything to help cancer patients, that\u2019s what I\u2019m for.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the Fiszbein Lab<\/a>, she studies gene expression\u2014how mRNA transmits genetic blueprints from the DNA in the heart of a cell, the nucleus, to its construction site, the cytoplasm, a semifluid substance that fills the cell. By deepening our knowledge of how mRNA carries directions and how they\u2019re put to work, she hopes to better understand what happens when the genetic process goes awry.<\/p>\n

\u201cI focus on cancer: what is different in terms of gene expression between a normal tissue and a cancer tissue. What is wrong, what\u2019s happening, why these molecular mechanisms change, what triggers that,\u201d says Fiszbein, who has received funding from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center and BU\u2019s Rafik B. Hariri Institute for Computing and Computational Science & Engineering.<\/p>\n

In some studies, Fiszbein and her team look at one gene in detail. In others, they use computing power and machine learning to look at what\u2019s happening across the entire genome, a vast amount of data. \u201cWe mix experimental and computational work,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

In a recent study, Fiszbein found that the journey from gene to protein doesn\u2019t flow in just one direction. When it comes to alternative splicing, instructions can be passed back from a protein to support development elsewhere in the body. \u201cThe mRNA processing feeds back to transcription and mRNA synthesis,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring cancer progression, there are many genes where we can change this splicing,\u201d says Fiszbein. Eventually, it may be possible to teach the body to reject a cancer\u2019s harmful cell differentiation instructions. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to first understand what\u2019s going on and then we develop strategies to manipulate that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Biologist Ana Fiszbein hopes to treat and prevent cancer<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":64212,"template":"","department":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/magazine-articles\/64209"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/magazine-articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/r_cas_magazine"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/magazine-articles\/64209\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":64999,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/magazine-articles\/64209\/revisions\/64999"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64212"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64209"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"r_cas_department","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/department?post=64209"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}