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various methods for modifying the RNA chain or 3 end.
Our method introduces the functional group orthogonal to
those reactions at the 5 site so that multiple site-selective
RNA modifications may be possible. We believe that 5 end
modification by VCE will become a versatile and useful
method for producing various types of functional RNAs in
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In conclusion, we show that various cap-modified RNAs
can be prepared easily and efficiently by using VCE and
GTP analogs. Modified dinucleotide cap analogs are useful for synthesizing various modified-capped RNAs cotranscriptionally. However, it is necessary to chemically synthesize the dinucleotide cap analog to introduce rare modifications. In contrast, our VCE-based method can generate cap-modified mRNAs that exhibit various translation levels using commercially available materials without
chemically-synthesized dinucleotides. Modified caps containing azide groups, amino groups, and alkynes can also
be easily synthesized, making it possible to use this method
as a 5 end-specific modification method for RNA. This
cap-modification method using the capping enzyme or the
capping enzyme in combination with bioconjugation techniques will enable the generation of functional mRNAs with
non-natural cap modifications and provide useful tools for
the fields of RNA therapeutics and biological research.
Nucleic Acids Research, 2023, Vol. 51, No. 6 e34
e34 Nucleic Acids Research, 2023, Vol. 51, No. 6
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