Engineered Mesenchymal Stromal/Stem Cells: Increasing Targeting Precision in Cancer Therapy
A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Pathology, Diagnostics, and Therapeutics".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 January 2026 | Viewed by 5
Special Issue Editor
2. Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Ljubljana, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Interests: development of advanced therapy medicinal products; dendritic cell biology; CAR-T cells; mesenchymal stem cells; immunotherapy; regenerative medicine
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Mesenchymal stromal stem cells (MSCs) are regarded as a promising delivery vehicle for cancer therapy. They possess several advantageous characteristics, such as ease of isolation and expansion, as well as suitability for genetic modifications. Advances in genetic engineering and synthetic biology are further unlocking new ways to program MSCs to deliver therapeutic payloads—ranging from pro-apoptotic proteins and immune-activating cytokines to oncolytic viruses and nanocarriers—directly to tumor sites. The next generation of engineered MSCs offer the potential of overcoming certain key limitations, namely their target specificity (e.g. CAR-modified MSCs), in order to increase therapeutic efficacy and limit off-target toxicity in both solid and hematologic malignancies.
This Special Issue invites contributions that explore the design, function, and translational potential of engineered MSCs in oncology. We will prioritize original research articles, communications, and reviews on the topic of genetic modification strategies, MSC-mediated drug delivery systems, tumor microenvironment interactions, safety and tracking methods, and early clinical applications. Emphasis will be placed on approaches that enhance therapeutic specificity, persistence, and integration with existing cancer treatments. By bridging several interdisciplinary fields of research, this Issue aims to advance MSC engineering as a powerful modality in the evolving landscape of targeted cancer therapy.
Dr. Urban Švajger
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- engineered mesenchymal stromal stem cells
- targeted cancer therapy
- tumor microenvironment
- cell-based drug delivery
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