Advanced Molecular Science in Immunotherapy

Dear Colleagues,

Treating diseases with the novel generation of antibody-based/derived compounds is gradually supplanting the traditional pharmacology relying upon synthetic drugs and is the fulcrum of “immunotherapy”. It was through the revolutionizing hybridoma technology introduced by Kohler and Milstein that the use of monoclonal antibodies entered the therapeutic arena, with still a predominance in the cancer field. Clinical exploitation of such agents culminated in 1997 with the approval of the monoclonal antibody rituximab for the treatment of B-cell lymphomas. The classical approach of leveraging on immunological reagents targeting cancer cell-associated antigens also prevails now days, as such agents may be designed/engineered to induced direct cell killing through an associated cytotoxic payload (ADC, Antibody Drug Conjugates), or possibly through the triggering of cell-and/or complement-mediated cytotoxic effects. Alternative, antibody-based drugs progressively pervading the clinics are engineered molecular compounds construed as bispecific antibodies, in their full-length version or in the form of monovalent and bivalent immunoglobulin fragments and antibodies linked to other therapeutic proteins. We may therefore start to distinguish between “active”, or direct, and “passive”, or indirect, immunotherapy, conceived for producing either activating or suppressive outcomes depending on the pathological condition to be treated. Notably, we should acknowledge the idea of using anti-idiotypic antibodies for cancer therapy as the incipient lead to exploit (re)activation of the endogenous, innate immune system to attack cancer cells – an approach now considered revolutionary (and eloquently priced through a Nobel Price to the founders) in the context of antibody treatment of tumours. A further development of immunotherapy is finally provided by the combining of antibodies against elective cancer cell targets and the use of autologous immune cells (primarily T cells, known as T-cell adoptive transfer/CAR T cell therapy). This Special Issue aims to collect original research and review articles focusing on molecular advances in immunotherapy.

Prof. Dr. Roberto Perris
Guest Editor

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• antibody-drug conjugates
• CAR T cells
• immunotherapy
• antibody therapy
• antibody-induced cytotoxicity
• bispecific antibodies
• theranostic agents