Bacterial Vectored Vaccines: Design and Application
A special issue of Vaccines (ISSN 2076-393X). This special issue belongs to the section "Vaccine Design, Development, and Delivery".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2026
Special Issue Editor
Interests: veterinary vaccines; delivery systems; Salmonella vector vaccines; Salmonella in cancer therapy; oral mRNA vaccine; Salmonella pathophysiology; Salmonella-mediated immunotherapy; antibacterial–antiviral peptides and drugs.
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
The development of safe, scalable and effective vaccines remains a major goal of global health. Classical vaccines, such as inactivated, subunit and viral-vectored vaccines, have achieved notable success; however, they face limitations related to production costs, antigen stability, delivery efficiency and the ability to induce strong mucosal immunity. In recent years, bacterial vectored vaccines have emerged as a transformative platform with the potential to address many of these existing challenges.
Bacterial species provide a unique set of advantages as live vectors. They can be engineered to deliver heterologous antigens, acting as natural adjuvants, and stimulate strong cellular and humoral immune responses. Furthermore, bacterial vectors can be tailored to target mucosal tissues, a critical entry point for many pathogens, thereby eliciting both local and systemic immunity. In recent years, advances in synthetic biology, molecular microbiology and systems vaccinology have enabled precise genetic engineering of bacterial vectors, enhancing their safety, stability and antigen presentation capabilities.
Applications of bacterial vectored vaccines are a multidisciplinary study area, spanning across infectious diseases, cancer and therapeutic uses. From attenuated Salmonella and Listeria platforms to commensal and probiotic strains, researchers are exploring innovative ways to use bacteria for targeted antigen delivery. Additionally, the integration of new technologies like CRISPR-based engineering, outer membrane vesicle (OMV) display systems and multi-epitope expression platforms is broadening the scope in this field.
This Special Issue, “Bacterial Vectored Vaccines: Design and Application”, seeks to bring together cutting-edge research and critical perspectives on the design, development and translational application of bacterial vectors in vaccinology. We welcome original research articles, reviews and short communications covering, but not limited to:
- Novel bacterial vectors and engineering strategies.
- Safety optimization and attenuation approaches.
- Mucosal immunity and delivery mechanisms.
- Bacterial vectors for infectious diseases and cancer immunotherapy.
- Antigen design, expression and presentation systems.
- Regulatory, translational and clinical perspectives
By consolidating the latest advances, this Special Issue aims to inspire new collaborations and accelerate progress toward next-generation vaccines that are affordable, effective and globally accessible.
Prof. Dr. John Hwa Lee
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. Vaccines is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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
- Bacterial vectors
- Mucosal immunity
- Live attenuated vaccines
- Synthetic biology in vaccinology
- Antigen delivery systems
- Salmonella and Listeria vectors
- Bacteria species in cancer immunotherapy
- Outer membrane vesicles (OMVs).
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