Checkpoint Antibodies at the Crossroads: From Mechanisms to Multi-Modal Cancer Therapy
A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Immunology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 January 2026 | Viewed by 30
Special Issue Editors
Interests: immunology and microbiology; modern biotechnology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: tumor immunity; bispecific antibody; cancer immunotherapy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Cancer immunotherapy, particularly immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), has redefined cancer treatment paradigms. Despite remarkable breakthroughs, durable clinical benefits remain limited to a subset of patients. This variability reflects the complexity and heterogeneity inherent to the tumor microenvironment (TME) as well as the current reliance on a narrow set of immune targets (e.g., PD-1/PD-L1, CTLA-4) and effector cells (primarily T cells). To overcome resistance and broaden therapeutic efficacy, there is a pressing need to deepen our mechanistic understanding of immune checkpoint pathways and to explore synergistic combinations that engage diverse immune cell populations and signaling axes.
This Special Issue aims to synthesize cutting-edge research on immune checkpoint antibodies and their integration into multi-modal cancer immunotherapies. We welcome submissions that explore novel checkpoint targets, characterize the functional diversity of immune cells within the TME, and inform rational combination strategies through both experimental and computational approaches. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following: mechanisms of primary and acquired resistance to ICIs; single-cell profiling of dynamic immune responses; cytokine and signaling pathway regulation of anti-tumor immunity; multifunctional antibodies; omics-based discoveries using computational biology or AI; and clinical studies on innovative combinatorial regimens. Together, these efforts aim to chart new directions in immune-based cancer therapy.
Prof. Dr. Li Ye
Dr. Xuyao Zhang
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- immune checkpoint inhibitors
- tumor microenvironment
- computational immunology
- resistance mechanisms
- multifunctional antibodies
- rational combination design
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