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Vaccines
Special Issues
Novel Immunotherapies, Cell Therapies and Cancer Vaccines
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Novel Immunotherapies, Cell Therapies and Cancer Vaccines

A special issue of Vaccines (ISSN 2076-393X). This special issue belongs to the section "Cancer Vaccines and Immunotherapy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 January 2026 | Viewed by 998

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Vita Golubovskaya

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Promab Biotechnologies, 2600 Hilltop Drive, Building B, C348, Richmond, CA 94803, USA
2. Department of Medicine, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Andrews Academic Tower, 800 Stanton L. Young Blvd, Oklahoma City, OK 73104, USA
Interests: immunotherapy; CAR-T cells; tumor microenvironment; checkpoint protein; hypoxia; tumor survival signaling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Novel cell therapies, immunotherapies, antibodies, bispecific antibodies and vaccines demonstrate remarkable results in the treatment of patients with cancer. Several CAR-T cell therapies and CAR-NK cells are used in clinics. The method encompassing T cell engagers attracting T cells to the tumor side is another example of a promising therapy for targeting solid tumors. Vaccines are also an exciting area of immunotherapy against cancer.

This issue will focus on different immunotherapies, autologous and allogeneic cell therapies, antibodies and vaccines. We welcome reports focusing on the tumor microenvironment, checkpoint proteins, hypoxia, tumor-associated macrophages, cancer-associated fibroblasts, vascular, angiogenic pathways, cytokines, chemokines, T reg cells blocking immune response and tumor intracellular pathways. Moreover, this issue will highlight the next-generation, personalized immunotherapy approaches and vaccines that will be developed in the future to enhance how we treat patients.

Dr. Vita Golubovskaya
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

  • cell therapy
  • vaccine
  • cancer
  • immunotherapy
  • antibody

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

29 pages, 9902 KiB  
Article
Synergistic Antitumor Effects of Caerin Peptides and Dendritic Cell Vaccines in a 4T-1 Murine Breast Cancer Model
by Rongmi Mo, Junjie Li, Xinyi Song, Jiawei Fu, Mengqi Liu, Yuandong Luo, Quanlan Fu, Jinyi Wu, Hongyin Wu, Yongxin Liang, Tianfang Wang, Xiaosong Liu and Guoying Ni
Vaccines 2025, 13(6), 577; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines13060577 - 28 May 2025
Viewed by 265
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Breast cancer remains a leading cause of cancer-related mortality among women worldwide, necessitating novel therapeutic strategies. This study aimed to investigate the synergistic antitumor effects of caerin peptides (F1/F3) combined with dendritic cell (DC) vaccines in a 4T-1 murine breast cancer [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Breast cancer remains a leading cause of cancer-related mortality among women worldwide, necessitating novel therapeutic strategies. This study aimed to investigate the synergistic antitumor effects of caerin peptides (F1/F3) combined with dendritic cell (DC) vaccines in a 4T-1 murine breast cancer model, providing new insights for breast cancer immunotherapy. Methods: In vitro experiments evaluated the effects of F1/F3 on 4T-1 cell proliferation and apoptosis. A 4T-1 breast cancer mouse model was established, and treatments included F1/F3 alone, DC vaccines (DCV1: loaded with whole tumor antigens; DCV2: loaded with F1/F3-induced apoptotic antigens), or combination therapy. Flow cytometry analyzed immune cell subsets in the tumor microenvironment and lymph nodes, while ELISA measured cytokine levels. Results: F1/F3 significantly inhibited 4T-1 cell proliferation and induced apoptosis while suppressing tumor growth and lung metastasis in vivo. Flow cytometry revealed increased infiltration of CD4+ T cells and cDC1 in tumors, along with reduced PD-L1 expression. DCV2 exhibited stronger T-cell proliferation induction and lower IL-10 secretion in vitro. Combination therapy with DCV2 and F1/F3 demonstrated superior tumor suppression compared to monotherapy. Conclusions: F1/F3 enhances antitumor immunity by modulating the tumor microenvironment, and its combination with DCV2 yields synergistic effects. This study provides experimental evidence for combination immunotherapy in breast cancer, with potential for further optimization of DC vaccine design to improve efficacy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Immunotherapies, Cell Therapies and Cancer Vaccines)
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16 pages, 7103 KiB  
Article
Adjuvanted RNA Origami—A Tunable Peptide Assembly Platform for Constructing Cancer Nanovaccines
by Theresa Yip, Xinyi Tu, Xiaodong Qi, Hao Yan and Yung Chang
Vaccines 2025, 13(6), 560; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines13060560 - 25 May 2025
Viewed by 427
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Cancer peptide vaccines represent a promising strategy to develop targeted and personalized treatments for cancer patients. While tumor peptides alone are insufficient in mounting effective immune responses, the addition of adjuvants can enhance their immunogenicity. Nanoparticle delivery systems have been explored as [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Cancer peptide vaccines represent a promising strategy to develop targeted and personalized treatments for cancer patients. While tumor peptides alone are insufficient in mounting effective immune responses, the addition of adjuvants can enhance their immunogenicity. Nanoparticle delivery systems have been explored as vaccine carriers to incorporate both adjuvants and peptides. One such nanoparticle is RNA origami (RNA-OG), a nucleic acid nanostructure that is programmed to form different sizes and shapes. Our designed RNA-OG can incorporate various biomolecules and has intrinsic adjuvant activity by acting as a toll-like receptor 3 agonist. We previously showed that the RNA-OG functions as an adjuvanted, carrier-free vaccine platform to assemble peptides. Although effective, only a fixed number of peptides (13) could be covalently linked to each RNA-OG. Methods: Here, we developed a simple physical assembly strategy to attach polylysine-linked neopeptides onto RNA-OG so that the number of peptides per RNA-OG could be readily tuned and tested for their immunogenicity. Results: Although the vaccines with a high number of peptides, i.e., 100–200 peptides/RNA-OG, led to greater peptide presentation by bone marrow-derived dendritic cells, they failed to mount effective CD8+ T cell responses against engrafted tumor cells, probably owing to an induction of early T cell exhaustion. Interestingly, the same vaccine format with a low number of peptides, i.e., 10–15 peptides/RNA-OG, enhanced CD8+ T cell responses without provoking T cell exhaustion in tumor-bearing mice, leading to strong protective anti-tumor immunity. In comparison, the covalently assembled RNA-OG-peptide vaccine, having a similarly low peptide dosage, offered the highest therapeutic efficacy. Thus, our RNA-OG nanostructure provides a simple and tunable platform for peptide loading to optimize vaccine efficacy. Conclusions: Our findings have significant implications for peptide vaccine design regarding peptide dosages and structural stability of RNA-OG complexed with peptides, which could guide the development of more effective peptide vaccines for cancer immunotherapy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Immunotherapies, Cell Therapies and Cancer Vaccines)
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