Epigenetic Genes, Biomarkers and Immunotherapy in Cancers

Dear Colleagues,

Immunotherapies that boost the immune system response against cancer cells show promising effects in experimental and clinical setups. A wide-ranging portfolio of immunotherapy options that are available or under development include immune checkpoint blocking antibodies, chimeric antigen vector (CAR) T cells, vaccines based on dendritic cells or engineered cancer cells, etc. Nevertheless, in certain cases, the efficacy of such a treatment may be compromised due to the limited response within tumors with immunosuppressive features or toxic auto-immune responses.

Epigenetic modifications (i.e., DNA methylation, histone modifications, and ncRNAs) shape the transcriptional profile of tumor and immune cells, thus affecting tumor–immune system interactions. Certain immune signaling molecules were shown to be epigenetically regulated, e.g., via aberrant promoter hypermethylation or EZH2-mediated H3K37me3 deposition. Reversing their epigenetic status with epigenetic drugs, such as DNA or histone methyltransferase inhibitors, restores their expression, thus resulting in increased tumor immunogenicity. As such, epigenetic modifications within specific immune-related loci may act as biomarkers of the immunotherapy response but may also serve as targets supporting immunotherapy. Moreover, epigenetic modifications may be involved in the transcriptional activation of endogenous retroviruses, which evoke a dsRNA-mediated IFN response engaged in anti-cancer immunity.

For this Special Issue, we invite the original papers, reviews, comments, and other article types that focus on epigenetic genes and modifications that may modulate the response to tumor immunotherapy. We welcome the papers focused on the epigenetic genes or machineries that may affect tumor–immune interactions, epigenetic biomarkers that may guide immunotherapy management, and epigenetic targets and drugs that may reinforce immunotherapies.

Dr. Urszula Oleksiewicz
Prof. Dr. Andrzej Mackiewicz
Guest Editor

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• epigenetics
• epigenetic modifications
• immunotherapies
• immune checkpoint
• DNA methylation
• histone modifications
• epigenetic biomarkers
• epidrugs
• endogenous retroviruses