Translation Enhancer for Gene Regulation

Stanford researchers have developed one of the smallest, active translational enhancers that can be adapted to control gene regulation. The translation enhancer is a short RNA stem-loop structure isolated from a Hox gene. It can be used to increase the translation efficiency of any mRNA when used upstream of a spacer sequence and placed into any 5'UTR. For example, it may increase translation of any mRNA-based vaccine that needs to be highly expressed in the cell upon delivery, reducing the total required amount and number of repeat deliveries of mRNA to the patient. This is an attractive system for biotechnology applications such as RNA-based viral delivery or expression requiring large amounts of protein synthesized.

This technology is part of a portfolio of innovations aimed at fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.

Related technologies for optimizing RNA-based therapeutics and vaccine design:

Stanford docket S20-205 - Repurposing the SARS-CoV2 5'-UTR for RNA Based Therapeutics
Stanford docket S20-176 - Software for Rapid Mapping of RNA Structure
Stanford docket S19-310 - Rational Design of Ultratight RNA Aptamers against Protein Targets
Stanford docket S19-143 - Primerize: Software for Designing Primers for Rapid RNA Synthesis
Stanford docket S20-174 - Optimized Synthesis and Translation of RNA Therapeutics