RNA interference against "swine flu"

A young TPU scientist is working on creating a new method of combating the H1N1 influenza virus

TPU News Service

A young scientist of Tomsk Polytechnic University Alexander Timin, a junior researcher at the laboratory of new dosage forms of the RASA Center based on TPU, is developing a new method of combating the H1N1 swine flu virus. The method is not to look for new flu vaccines, but to "teach" the patient's immunity to produce interferons faster – proteins that help the immune system cope with the virus.

Recall that the team of the laboratory of new dosage forms of the RASA Center in Tomsk on the basis of Tomsk Polytechnic University under the leadership of Gleb Sukhorukov is developing new ways of delivering medicines to the body.

We are talking about spherical hybrid microcontainers. They, getting into the body, carry out targeted delivery of the medicine to the organ that needs to be cured. Then the microcontainer can release the contents under the influence of ultrasound or light exposure, and the contents of the drug fall directly on the affected area of the body.

The scientists of the laboratory propose to activate the immune system of the body's cells with the help of such hybrid microcontainers, which contain antiviral RNAs (ribonucleic acids).

RNA is one of the three main macromolecules that are found in the cells of all living organisms. It is known that viruses also contain RNA. When interacting with these RNAs, the cells of our body begin to secrete interferons – proteins produced and released by host cells in response to the presence of pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, parasites or tumor cells. In a typical scenario, a virus-infected cell releases interferons, forcing neighboring cells to increase their antiviral protection.

"We are going to use RNA to fight the H1N1 virus. The idea is to deliver antiviral RNA by sealing it in a microcontainer, to those cells that, when infected with a virus, emit few interferons. As a result of transfection, that is, the introduction of genetic material into the cell, the viral genome is blocked, which leads to a decrease in the reproduction of the influenza virus," explains Alexander Timin, a junior researcher at the laboratory of New dosage Forms of the RASA Center at TPU. – We used small interfering RNAs that interact with the matrix RNA (mRNA) of the influenza virus. This leads to degradation of the "viral" RNA, preventing its translation on ribosomes into the protein encoded by it, which contributes to a decrease in the expression of the viral gene."

Delivery of microcontainers containing small interfering RNAs is carried out into the patient's body respiratory – through the nasal sinuses. In the nasal cavity, the microcontainer degrades and releases RNA into cells, which leads to their transfection and, consequently, increased immunity against the influenza virus.

"The first laboratory experiments showed that as a result of such interaction, the content of the viral protein is reduced by more than 80%.

This allows us to talk about the serious potential of our technology. After all, as you know, one of the main problems of modern medicine is that viruses have learned to evolve quickly, which complicates the process of developing effective antiviral drugs. Our method may allow us to develop new approaches to combat this global problem in the future," Alexander Timin notes.

Scientists from the Raisa Gorbacheva Institute of Pediatric Hematology and Transplantology and the Russian Ministry of Health's Influenza Research Institute in St. Petersburg are also taking part in the development of the technology.

Now the scientific team of the laboratory under the leadership of Gleb Sukhorukov is preparing a scientific article on this topic for publication in high-rating publications.

Reference:
H1N1 is a subtype of the influenza A virus (the most common type of influenza that causes the most widespread epidemics), can cause disease in both humans and many animals. It was first discovered in 1931 by the American scientist Richard Shoup. Strain A (H1N1 "California 04/2009") in 2009 became known as "swine flu".
The formation of the laboratory of new dosage forms of the RASA Center on the basis of TPU began in January of this year. It is headed by representatives of the International Association of Russian-Speaking Scientists (RASA). The head of the laboratory is Gleb Sukhorukov, Head of the Department of Biopolymer and Bioorganic Surfaces of the School of Engineering Sciences and Materials Science of Queen Mary University of London (Great Britain), President of the Association of Russian–speaking Scientists in Europe.
It should be noted that the scientific team of the laboratory of new dosage forms of the RASA Center based on TPU this year published 10 scientific articles in highly rated journals with a high impact factor. The publications are devoted to technologies for creating effective methods of delivery of various medicinal compounds using the encapsulation method.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru  15.11.2016