Interaction Between DNA Damage Response and Anti-Cancer Immunity
A special issue of Cells (ISSN 2073-4409). This special issue belongs to the section "Cell and Gene Therapy".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2026 | Viewed by 194
Special Issue Editors
Interests: cell biology; cancer and immunotherapy; DNA damage
Interests: cellular informatics; metastasis; dormancy; heterogeneity; signal transduction; data science; graph theory; single-cell meta-analysis transcriptome; gene amplification; genetic polymorphism; molecular oncology
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The intricate interaction between DNA damage response (DDR) pathways and anti-cancer immunity is a rapidly evolving frontier with profound implications for therapeutic design. While genomic instability from defective DDR drives tumorigenesis, it simultaneously shapes the tumor-immune landscape by increasing tumor mutational burden (TMB), generating neoantigens, and activating innate immune signaling like the cGAS-STING pathway. These processes can enhance tumor immunogenicity but also lead to complex adaptations in the tumor microenvironment.
This dynamic crosstalk presents both a challenge and an opportunity. It underpins the rationale for combining DDR inhibitors (e.g., PARP, ATR, DNA-PK inhibitors) with immune checkpoint blockade (ICB). However, as clinical evidence grows, the relationship is revealed to be nuanced and context-dependent; for instance, certain co-mutations in DDR genes and TP53 may predict diminished, rather than enhanced, immunotherapy efficacy, highlighting the need for deeper mechanistic insight.
For this Special Issue of Cells, we invite original research and review articles that explore the cellular and molecular mechanisms at this critical interface. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to: (1) DDR deficiencies and their impact on tumor immunogenicity and the immune microenvironment; (2) Mechanisms of immune activation or suppression by DDR-targeting agents (radiotherapy, chemotherapy, DDR inhibitors); (3) Biomarkers for predicting response to combinations of DDR inhibition and immunotherapy (MSI, TMB); (4) Novel therapeutic strategies and preclinical models investigating DDR-immune interactions.
We look forward to your contributions to this exciting and impactful field.
Dr. Takahiko Murayama
Dr. Jun Nakayama
Guest Editors
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Keywords
- DNA damage response
- tumor microenvironment
- DDR inhibitors
- immune checkpoint blockade
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