Rational Design and Immunological Mechanisms of Circular RNA-Based Vaccines: Emerging Frontiers in Combating Pathogen Infection
Vaccines remain one of the most effective tools in combating infectious diseases, though traditional platforms are constrained by limitations including suboptimal immunogenicity, safety concerns, and manufacturing complexity. Circular RNA (circRNA) vaccines have recently emerged as a novel vaccine m...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Vaccines |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/13/6/563 |
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| author | Ying Zhang Shumei Jin Zan Zuo Shujing Liu Juan Xu Chongyi Yang Ping Wan Linting Xun Mei Luo Fan Yang Wenjie Chen Zhengji Song Jialong Qi |
| author_facet | Ying Zhang Shumei Jin Zan Zuo Shujing Liu Juan Xu Chongyi Yang Ping Wan Linting Xun Mei Luo Fan Yang Wenjie Chen Zhengji Song Jialong Qi |
| author_sort | Ying Zhang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Vaccines remain one of the most effective tools in combating infectious diseases, though traditional platforms are constrained by limitations including suboptimal immunogenicity, safety concerns, and manufacturing complexity. Circular RNA (circRNA) vaccines have recently emerged as a novel vaccine modality, demonstrating unique advantages including high stability, low innate immunogenicity, and sustained antigen expression. Although early research has predominantly focused on viral targets, accumulating evidence now supports the application potential of circRNA vaccines against diverse pathogens, particularly antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Through encoding critical antigens or virulence factors, these circRNA vaccines demonstrate capability to induce protective immune responses, presenting a viable alternative to conventional antimicrobial strategies. This review highlights recent advances in circRNA vaccine development, spanning synthetic circularization techniques, delivery approaches, and immunological mechanisms. We emphasize their potential against viral, bacterial, fungal, and parasitic infections, while addressing current challenges and future research directions of this emerging platform. Collectively, these insights underscore circRNA’s multifaceted versatility and its expanding relevance in next-generation vaccine innovation. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-00d3e18f05ab44ceb8a50004195a71b1 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2076-393X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Vaccines |
| spelling | doaj-art-00d3e18f05ab44ceb8a50004195a71b12025-08-20T03:26:56ZengMDPI AGVaccines2076-393X2025-05-0113656310.3390/vaccines13060563Rational Design and Immunological Mechanisms of Circular RNA-Based Vaccines: Emerging Frontiers in Combating Pathogen InfectionYing Zhang0Shumei Jin1Zan Zuo2Shujing Liu3Juan Xu4Chongyi Yang5Ping Wan6Linting Xun7Mei Luo8Fan Yang9Wenjie Chen10Zhengji Song11Jialong Qi12Yunnan Provincial Key Laboratory of Clinical Virology, The First People’s Hospital of Yunnan Province, The Affiliated Hospital of Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650032, ChinaYunnan Institute of Food and Drug Supervision and Control, Medical Products Administration of Yunnan Province, Kunming 650032, ChinaYunnan Provincial Key Laboratory of Clinical Virology, The First People’s Hospital of Yunnan Province, The Affiliated Hospital of Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650032, ChinaSchool of Pharmacy, Mudanjiang Medical University, Mudanjiang 157011, ChinaSchool of Medicine, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650504, ChinaYunnan Institute of Food and Drug Supervision and Control, Medical Products Administration of Yunnan Province, Kunming 650032, ChinaSchool of Medicine, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650504, ChinaYunnan Digestive Endoscopy Clinical Medical Center, Department of Gastroenterology, The First People’s Hospital of Yunnan Province, Kunming 650032, ChinaYunnan Digestive Endoscopy Clinical Medical Center, Department of Gastroenterology, The First People’s Hospital of Yunnan Province, Kunming 650032, ChinaSchool of Medicine, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650504, ChinaGuangdong-Hongkong-Macao Joint Laboratory of Respiratory Infectious Disease, State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou 510182, ChinaSchool of Medicine, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650504, ChinaYunnan Provincial Key Laboratory of Clinical Virology, The First People’s Hospital of Yunnan Province, The Affiliated Hospital of Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650032, ChinaVaccines remain one of the most effective tools in combating infectious diseases, though traditional platforms are constrained by limitations including suboptimal immunogenicity, safety concerns, and manufacturing complexity. Circular RNA (circRNA) vaccines have recently emerged as a novel vaccine modality, demonstrating unique advantages including high stability, low innate immunogenicity, and sustained antigen expression. Although early research has predominantly focused on viral targets, accumulating evidence now supports the application potential of circRNA vaccines against diverse pathogens, particularly antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Through encoding critical antigens or virulence factors, these circRNA vaccines demonstrate capability to induce protective immune responses, presenting a viable alternative to conventional antimicrobial strategies. This review highlights recent advances in circRNA vaccine development, spanning synthetic circularization techniques, delivery approaches, and immunological mechanisms. We emphasize their potential against viral, bacterial, fungal, and parasitic infections, while addressing current challenges and future research directions of this emerging platform. Collectively, these insights underscore circRNA’s multifaceted versatility and its expanding relevance in next-generation vaccine innovation.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/13/6/563circRNA vaccinecircular RNApathogens infectionRNA delivery |
| spellingShingle | Ying Zhang Shumei Jin Zan Zuo Shujing Liu Juan Xu Chongyi Yang Ping Wan Linting Xun Mei Luo Fan Yang Wenjie Chen Zhengji Song Jialong Qi Rational Design and Immunological Mechanisms of Circular RNA-Based Vaccines: Emerging Frontiers in Combating Pathogen Infection Vaccines circRNA vaccine circular RNA pathogens infection RNA delivery |
| title | Rational Design and Immunological Mechanisms of Circular RNA-Based Vaccines: Emerging Frontiers in Combating Pathogen Infection |
| title_full | Rational Design and Immunological Mechanisms of Circular RNA-Based Vaccines: Emerging Frontiers in Combating Pathogen Infection |
| title_fullStr | Rational Design and Immunological Mechanisms of Circular RNA-Based Vaccines: Emerging Frontiers in Combating Pathogen Infection |
| title_full_unstemmed | Rational Design and Immunological Mechanisms of Circular RNA-Based Vaccines: Emerging Frontiers in Combating Pathogen Infection |
| title_short | Rational Design and Immunological Mechanisms of Circular RNA-Based Vaccines: Emerging Frontiers in Combating Pathogen Infection |
| title_sort | rational design and immunological mechanisms of circular rna based vaccines emerging frontiers in combating pathogen infection |
| topic | circRNA vaccine circular RNA pathogens infection RNA delivery |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/13/6/563 |
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