Too often, the lack of clinical trials means that pregnant women suffer because available medications are prescribed off-label for them or not at all. A new study offers proof of concept for the important parameters to develop pregnancy-safe gene therapies.
“In thinking about the future of genetic medicine, we would like to understand what could be good for pregnant people as well,” says Kathryn Whitehead.
Whitehead, professor of chemical engineering and biomedical engineering, is among the first to study mRNA delivery during pregnancy.
In a paper published in PNAS, Whitehead provides structural guidance on the design of lipid nanoparticles for safe use during pregnancy. Lipid nanoparticles are the delivery vehicles that bring mRNA into cells.
A lot of the questions surrounding gene therapies in pregnant versus non-pregnant people have to do with the delivery vehicle. It’s not clear if the same delivery vehicle can be used for all or if one needs to be specially developed for safe use during pregnancy.
2024-03-08 20:41:03
Post from phys.org