Next-Generation CAR-T Cell Therapy: From Bench to Bedside
A special issue of Cells (ISSN 2073-4409). This special issue belongs to the section "Cellular Immunology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2026 | Viewed by 5
Special Issue Editor
2. Faculty of Health, School of Biomedical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia
Interests: chimeric antigen receptor T cells; bone marrow transplantation; immune regulation and immunotoxicity
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy represents a revolutionary advance in cancer treatment, offering the possibility of long-term response in patients with otherwise refractory malignancies. Despite their remarkable success in select hematological cancers—particularly with CD19- and BCMA-targeted CARs—current CAR T therapies face significant limitations. These include limited CAR T cell persistence, antigen escape, treatment-associated toxicities, reduced efficacy in solid tumors, and manufacturing challenges.
This Topic aims to capture the rapidly evolving landscape of CAR T cell development by highlighting innovative strategies that bridge fundamental discovery and clinical translation. It will encompass advances in CAR construct design, novel antigen targeting, immune regulation and toxicity management, strategies to overcome the tumor microenvironment, and improvements in cell manufacturing and delivery. Additionally, it will explore mechanistic insights from preclinical models to support translational research.
By bringing together interdisciplinary contributions from immunology, oncology, bioengineering, and translational medicine, this Topic will provide a platform to share the ways in which next-generation CAR T cell therapies are being optimized for broader applicability, improved safety, and sustained efficacy across a range of malignancies.
Dr. Ping Zhang
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 short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
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-blind 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
- chimeric antigen receptor T cells
- cytokine release syndrome
- immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS)
- immunotoxicity
- T cell exhaustion
- antigen discovery
- CAR engineering
- mouse models
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.
