Gene Regulation of Immune Checkpoints in Cancer Immunotherapy
A special issue of Cancers (ISSN 2072-6694). This special issue belongs to the section "Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 July 2026 | Viewed by 199
Editors
Interests: molecular pathology; cancer biomarkers
Interests: cancer genomics; precision medicine; data science in genomics; next-generation sequencing; translational oncology; tumor immunology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
2. School of Infection and Immunity, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8TA, UK
Interests: tumor immunology; autoimmunity; RNA sequencing; immunotranscriptomics; translational oncology; immunoregulatory cytokines
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
This Special Issue focuses on gene regulation and immune checkpoints as a framework to strengthen cancer immunotherapy. Although immune checkpoint blockade has reshaped oncology, its uneven efficacy highlights that checkpoints are not simple “on–off” switches but regulated cellular states shaped by underlying gene-regulatory programs. Tumor responsiveness depends on coordinated control of tumor visibility (antigen presentation), immune attack (T-cell recruitment and function) and immune control (avoidance of exhaustion and suppression) across cancer cells, immune cells and the tumor microenvironment. Epigenetic mechanisms, transcription factors, enhancers and super-enhancer architectures, chromatin accessibility and non-coding RNAs dynamically tune interferon signaling, checkpoint induction (e.g., PD-L1) and adaptive resistance, often converting immune pressure into durable immune evasion. Here, we welcome papers that interrogate the concept of regulated immune responsiveness and resistance, including epigenetic control of antigen presentation and checkpoint pathways, transcriptional and chromatin-based mechanisms of immune escape, regulatory RNA networks shaping immune cell states and rational epigenetic–immunotherapy combination strategies with translational relevance.
Prof. Dr. Stamatios Theocharis
Prof. Dr. Apostolos Zaravinos
Dr. Maria-Ioanna Christodoulou
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Cancers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- immune checkpoint
- gene regulation
- immune evasion
- epigenetic–immunotherapy
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