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Chemical and Synthetic Biology Approaches in Cancer Immunotherapy

A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Chemical Biology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2023) | Viewed by 6624

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Radiation Oncology, College of Medicine and Center for Cancer Metabolism, James Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
Interests: chemical biology; synthetic biology; cancer metabolism; epigenetics; immunotherapy; microbiome

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Guest Editor
Frontiers Science Center for Disease-related Molecular Network, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China
Interests: microbiology; drug discovery; immunology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Cancer immunotherapy (immuno-oncology) is a promising and effective treatment strategy for different types of cancer in clinic. It is a broad concept that includes therapies based on antibodies, chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells, natural killer (NK) cells, bacteria, viruses, etc. Thus, interdisciplinary methods, such as chemical and synthetic biology approaches, facilitate the development of immuno-oncology. Recent chemical and synthetic biology advances have provided great opportunities for basic and translational studies of novel cancer immunotherapies, including the development of proteolysis targeting chimeric (PROTAC) technology, molecular glues, checkpoint inhibitors, antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), tumor vaccines, chemical probes for mechanistic research, and the engineering of gene circuits in therapeutic cells.

This Special Issue aims to provide a broad survey of the most recent advances in the methodology development and applications of chemical and synthetic biology approaches in cancer immunotherapy. Original research articles or reviews focused on basic or translational studies that discuss new chemical probes, drug leads, cancer vaccines, methodologies, and synthetic biology systems for immuno-oncology are welcome.

Dr. Qingfei Zheng
Dr. Qinglan Wang
Guest Editors

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. Molecules is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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

  • chemical biology
  • synthetic biology
  • synthetic chemistry
  • medicinal chemistry
  • immuno-oncology
  • cancer biology

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Review

34 pages, 5070 KiB  
Review
Introduction of Carbonyl Groups into Antibodies
by Evgeny L. Gulyak, Vera A. Alferova, Vladimir A. Korshun and Ksenia A. Sapozhnikova
Molecules 2023, 28(23), 7890; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28237890 - 1 Dec 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2041
Abstract
Antibodies and their derivatives (scFv, Fabs, etc.) represent a unique class of biomolecules that combine selectivity with the ability to target drug delivery. Currently, one of the most promising endeavors in this field is the development of molecular diagnostic tools and antibody-based therapeutic [...] Read more.
Antibodies and their derivatives (scFv, Fabs, etc.) represent a unique class of biomolecules that combine selectivity with the ability to target drug delivery. Currently, one of the most promising endeavors in this field is the development of molecular diagnostic tools and antibody-based therapeutic agents, including antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs). To meet this challenge, it is imperative to advance methods for modifying antibodies. A particularly promising strategy involves the introduction of carbonyl groups into the antibody that are amenable to further modification by biorthogonal reactions, namely aliphatic, aromatic, and α-oxo aldehydes, as well as aliphatic and aryl–alkyl ketones. In this review, we summarize the preparation methods and applications of site-specific antibody conjugates that are synthesized using this approach. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chemical and Synthetic Biology Approaches in Cancer Immunotherapy)
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21 pages, 2105 KiB  
Review
Chemical and Synthetic Biology Approaches for Cancer Vaccine Development
by Farzana Hossain, Shruthi Kandalai, Xiaozhuang Zhou, Nan Zhang and Qingfei Zheng
Molecules 2022, 27(20), 6933; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27206933 - 16 Oct 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3391
Abstract
Cancer vaccines have been considered promising therapeutic strategies and are often constructed from whole cells, attenuated pathogens, carbohydrates, peptides, nucleic acids, etc. However, the use of whole organisms or pathogens can elicit unwanted immune responses arising from unforeseen reactions to the vaccine components. [...] Read more.
Cancer vaccines have been considered promising therapeutic strategies and are often constructed from whole cells, attenuated pathogens, carbohydrates, peptides, nucleic acids, etc. However, the use of whole organisms or pathogens can elicit unwanted immune responses arising from unforeseen reactions to the vaccine components. On the other hand, synthetic vaccines, which contain antigens that are conjugated, often with carrier proteins, can overcome these issues. Therefore, in this review we have highlighted the synthetic approaches and discussed several bioconjugation strategies for developing antigen-based cancer vaccines. In addition, the major synthetic biology approaches that were used to develop genetically modified cancer vaccines and their progress in clinical research are summarized here. Furthermore, to boost the immune responses of any vaccines, the addition of suitable adjuvants and a proper delivery system are essential. Hence, this review also mentions the synthesis of adjuvants and utilization of biomaterial scaffolds, which may facilitate the design of future cancer vaccines. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chemical and Synthetic Biology Approaches in Cancer Immunotherapy)
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