ImmunoTargets and Therapy

Future-Ready CAR-T Cells: Integrating Gene Editing, Multi-Antigen Targeting, Translational Advances and Microenvironment Reprogramming

ImmunoTargets and Therapy is pleased to announce a new Article Collection dedicated to examining the next generation of CAR-T cell therapy.

Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapies have transformed the landscape of cancer treatment, offering unprecedented outcomes in relapsed and refractory hematologic malignancies. Despite these breakthroughs, significant obstacles; including antigen escape, T-cell exhaustion, off-tumor toxicity, limited durability of responses, and restricted success in solid tumors still constrain their broader therapeutic potential. In parallel, rapid innovations in gene editing, synthetic biology, vector engineering, and tumor microenvironment modulation are driving the next generation of CAR-T technologies.

Given the expanding field and urgent need for new solutions, this Article Collection aims to gather cutting-edge research and authoritative reviews that highlight transformative advances, emerging challenges, and forward-looking strategies in CAR-T cell–based immunotherapies.

Global research and clinical activity in CAR-T therapy is rapidly accelerating, yet critical gaps remain in mechanistic understanding, therapeutic optimization, and practical implementation. A focused Collection in ImmunoTargets and Therapy will provide a comprehensive and influential resource for clinicians, immunologists, translational scientists, and biotech innovators, catalyzing advancements that can reshape patient outcomes. Hence this Article Collection, will serve as a forward-looking platform to capture breakthrough developments and foster innovation in one of the most rapidly evolving domains of modern immunotherapy.

This Collection welcomes high-impact original research, reviews, mini-reviews, perspectives/commentaries, methodology papers and graphical reviews/visual communications focusing on the diverse scientific and translational innovations reshaping CAR-T therapy. Key themes include, but are not limited to:

1. Engineering Next-Generation CAR-T Cells
2. Addressing Antigen Escape and Heterogeneity
3. Toxicity Mitigation and Safety Engineering
4. Advanced Gene-Editing and Synthetic Engineering Platforms
5. Innovations in Tumor Microenvironment (TME) Reprogramming
6. Clinical Advances, Safety Innovations, and Combination Therapies
7. Expanding CAR-T Horizons Beyond Cancer

Keywords: CAR-T cell therapy; Next-generation CAR-T; Multi-antigen targeting; Tumor microenvironment (TME) modulation; Clinical trial innovations

­­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 15 October 2026.

Please contact Ashley Ambros with any Article Collection and/or discount queries.

Meet the Guest Advisors

Dr. Vinay Kumar is a Researcher (junior faculty) at the Heart and Vascular Institute, Pennsylvania State University, where his work focuses on dissecting dysregulated innate and adaptive immune networks in myocardial infarction (MI) and chronic heart failure (HF). His research emphasizes understanding the roles of distinct T-cell subsets and the time-dependent phenotypic shifts these cells undergo during chronic HF. Additionally, Dr. Kumar is dedicated to developing innovative immunomodulatory strategies to reverse pathological immune alterations and facilitate their translation from bench to bedside.

Dr. Anuradha Tyagi is a biomedical researcher specializing in inflammation biology, wound healing, and host–pathogen interactions. Her work demonstrates that timely modulation of the inflammatory phase is crucial for proper wound closure and tissue repair, particularly in conditions like radiation dermatitis. She has highlighted the therapeutic potential of secondary bile acids in chronic wound management, showing their ability to inhibit biofilm formation, neutralize bacterial virulence factors, modulate pro-inflammatory cytokines, and promote angiogenesis. Dr. Tyagi’s research advances our understanding of immune responses, microbial dynamics, and tissue regeneration, with important translational implications for chronic wound therapy.