Biotech Updates

Language Model Analyzes Untranslated Portion of mRNA to Boost Vaccine Development

April 10, 2024

Researchers from Princeton University developed a language model that analyzes the untranslated portion of mRNA to improve vaccine development. Their research may be used to protect people against infectious diseases and cancers.

Messenger RNA (mRNA) converts genetic information into proteins. However, only a portion of it is translated and the untranslated parts regulate significant aspects of the process and affect the protein expression level. By studying the untranslated region, researchers may optimize efficiency and enhance vaccines.

A team from Princeton University introduced the UTR-LM that studies the 5′ untranslated region (UTR) in mRNA. The model was used on a limited range of species, and the researchers were able to create hundreds of novel optimized sequences, and confirmed the results in laboratory tests. The most effective sequences exceeded several important benchmarks for vaccine development, which includes a 33% boost in the total efficiency of protein synthesis. Their results show that the language model may revolutionize vaccine development in the health industry.

Read the article on Nature Machine Intelligence for more information.


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