Autoimmunity

Autoimmune Inflammatory Reactions Following Genetic Vaccination

Genetic vaccines are a novel approach to immunization and immunotherapy in which, rather than a live or inactivated infectious agent, genetic material encoding proteins of the pathogen are delivered to the host’s cells. During the immunization process, the cells that synthesize the non-self proteins are inevitably perceived as a threat by the host’s immune system and attacked, causing an autoinflammatory reaction in the involved tissue. Therefore, the biodistribution of the vaccine-derived genetic material is a crucial aspect that should be finely addressed during the development of this type of vaccines. Such, novel platforms, based on the mRNA or the adenoviral vector technologies, have been widely employed against COVID-19, in the effort to provide immunization against SARS-CoV-2. However, several sources of immuno-histopathological evidence demonstrate that the genetic vaccines against COVID-19 can display a wide distribution within the body.

The off-target distribution of the vaccine-derived genetic material and the resulting autoinflammatory reactions is a fundamental topic that must be explored thoroughly. In fact, since the human body is not strictly compartmentalized, this is an issue of serious concern for every genetic vaccine, current or to be developed in the future, which induces human cells to synthesize non-self antigens. Indeed, in certain tissues (like those that have undergone terminal differentiation) the loss of cells causes irreparable damage that may have a fatal outcome.

This Article Collection aims to deeper investigate the issue of the autoimmune reactions triggered by the off-target distribution of genetic vaccines, trying to gather information related to: The sites of accumulation of the vaccine-derived genetic material and of synthesis of the encoded protein, the methods for their detection and study within tissues, the consequences for human health, possible solutions to mitigate the derived damage, and potential techniques for the development of safer vaccines that prevent the genetic material from spreading unintentionally beyond the injection site. In this regard, different article types will be considered for publication, including Research Articles, Reviews, Brief Reports and Methods.

keywords

• Genetic vaccines
• Antigen presentation
• Autoimmunity
• Adverse effects
• Histopathology

­­All manuscripts submitted to this Article Collection will undergo a full peer-review; the Guest Advisor for this Collection will not be handling the manuscripts (unless they are an Editorial Board member).

Please review the journal scope and author submission instructions prior to submitting a manuscript.

The deadline for submitting manuscripts is 31 January 2026.

Please contact Ashley Ambros with any queries and discount codes regarding this Article Collection.

Please be sure to select the Autoimmune Inflammatory Reactions Following Genetic Vaccination from the drop-down menu in the submission system.

Guest Advisors

Dr. Panagis Polykretis is a structural biologist who specializes in the use of molecular biology and biophysical techniques to characterize protein structures and investigate the intracellular processes involved in neurodegenerative diseases. He hypothesized the autoimmune inflammatory reaction triggered by the genetic vaccines against COVID-19 in off-target tissues due to the biodistribution beyond the injection site (Polykretis, Scand J Immunol. 2022;96:e13160; Polykretis et al., Autoimmunity, 56:1, 2259123), warning about the need for pharmacokinetic studies and risk-benefit evaluations.