Synthetic mRNA drives human cells to make Cpl-1 phage endolysin active against Streptococcus pneumoniae

Researchers at University Medicine Rostock delivered synthetic mRNA encoding the Cpl-1 phage endolysin into three human cell lines (HEK293T, A549, HepG2), which produced endolysin with activity against Streptococcus pneumoniae. Adding a human lysozyme signal peptide gave a secreted version, and a point mutation avoiding N-linked glycosylation improved killing; the secreted enzyme was active against nine pneumococcal strains, in what the authors describe as the first approach to mRNA-based endolysin therapy.