Extracellular Vesicles as a Platform for Vaccines

Dear Colleagues,

Extracellular vesicles (EVs), including exosomes, are approximately 50 to 150 nm in diameter, where their surface contains lipids and proteins derived from cell membranes, and the interior includes nucleic acids, such as microRNAs, mRNAs, and DNA, derived from intracellular substances. To date, numerous approaches are being investigated, including novel therapeutics using EVs. In addition, EV–virus interactions have potential applications in antiviral drug and vaccine developments. EVs are produced by virus-infected cells and play an important role in mediating the communication between uninfected and infected cells. Thus, viruses regulate the production and composition of EVs and can facilitate the infection, spread, and cell-to-cell spread utilizing the EVs’ secretion, formation, and release pathways. Furthermore, the technological development of dendritic cell vaccines that contribute to personalized medicine targeting neoantigens generated by gene mutations in cancer cells is attracting a considerable amount of attention. Dendritic cells (DCs) with different cytokines present different phenotypes related to their antigen-presenting ability. Furthermore, similar differences have been observed in the released EVs, suggesting that there may be differences in the antigen-presenting ability of the EVs themselves. The selection of functionally superior EVs is necessary for the production of DC vaccines by a novel nucleic acid transfer method using cancer antigen-derived mRNA.

This Special Issue aims to highlight the latest research on the role, biogenesis, and structure of EVs in vaccines. The topics that we intend to cover include (but are not limited to) the following areas:

• EVs-based DCs vaccine;
• Antigen presentation through EVs;
• Regulation of immune responses through EVs.

We invite submissions of both research and review articles and look forward to receiving your contributions.  

Dr. Yasunari Matsuzaka
Dr. Ryu Yashiro
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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• antigen presentation
• exosomes derived from dendritic cells
• extracellular vesicles
• immunotherapeutic strategies
• MHC
• T-cell responses
• vaccine