Reverse Vaccinology

Dear Colleagues,

This call for papers is focused on the rapidly expanding field of Reverse Vaccinology (RV) and Structural Vaccinology (SV). RV initially uses bioinformatics approaches to identify vaccine candidates in the protein coding genome (proteome) of pathogens, and more recently, of tumors. With respect to pathogens, there is a resurgence of interest in all aspects of vaccinology, including RV, in order to combat mounting antibiotic resistance. RV has already led to the development of a subunit vaccine against Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B (i.e., Bexsero). With respect to cancer, recent advancements in RV suggest that personalized vaccines can be developed to recognize mutations that result in protein coding changes specific to the tumour. SV is a logical extension of an RV approach and aims to re-design protective antigens to increase protective efficacy and stability, and thus enhance formulation and delivery of subunit vaccines. These renewed foci have coincided with the advent of “Big Data” and our increasing ability to apply bioinformatics approaches to interpret the vast amounts of data that are being generated.

This Special Issue aims to bring together all branches of the RV research community and is soliciting manuscripts pertaining to original research, mini and full reviews, short communications, as well as perspectives, which address any aspect of RV. This Special Issue will incorporate RV research pertaining to bacterial, eukaryotic and viral pathogens, as well as immunotherapy approaches to cancer, and all types of vaccine design (e.g., subunit or epitope). Submissions are invited that include, but are not limited to:

• In silico approaches to identifying vaccine candidates
• Bioinformatic tools and databases for conducting RV research
• Confirmation of candidates identified by RV in animal models or other immunogenicity assays
• Clinical trials of vaccines incorporating antigens identified from an RV approach
• Updates on the use of RV derived vaccines in clinical practice (e.g., Bexsero)
• Structural vaccinology approaches to enhance efficacy, stability and delivery of protective antigens.

Dr. Christopher Woelk
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. 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.