The Evolving Landscape of Cell and Gene Therapy—Opportunities, Challenges and the Road Ahead
A special issue of Cells (ISSN 2073-4409).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 July 2026 | Viewed by 2468
Editor
2. College of Professional Studies, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02101-02117, USA
Interests: cell and gene therapy; rare diseases; cardiovascular; metabolic disease; atherosclerosis; dyslipidemia; animal models; drug discovery and development
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Cell and gene therapies (CGT) have emerged as powerful modalities for treating conditions once considered intractable. With over 22 approved therapies to date and hundreds more in development, the field is undergoing rapid and transformative growth. Significant strides have been made in improving targeted delivery and reducing off-target effects, allowing for greater precision and safety in clinical applications.
Cell therapies—such as CAR-T cells—restore or enhance cellular functions by introducing viable, functional cells into patients. Gene therapies, in contrast, aim to correct or silence defective genes through direct modification of genetic material. Together, these approaches have expanded therapeutic possibilities for rare genetic disorders, cancers, and neurodegenerative diseases—particularly in patients who fail to respond to standard treatments or do not reach therapeutic targets.
This Special Issue focuses on the recent advances in CGT, with particular attention to addressing unmet medical needs over the past decade. It also highlights the critical role of in vitro and in vivo models in optimizing therapeutic strategies and the emerging potential to target previously inaccessible tissues and molecular pathways.
As we enter a new era of personalized and precision medicine, it is imperative to critically evaluate both the promise and limitations of CGT. This issue aims to foster dialogue and innovation toward more effective, scalable, and equitable therapeutic solutions.
Dr. Rai Ajit K. Srivastava
Guest Editor
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. Cells 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 2700 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
- cell therapy
- gene therapy/gene editing
- micro RNAs
- rare diseases
- metabolic disease
- cancer
- diabetes
- proatherogenic lipoproteins
- drug discovery
- ASO
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
