Glycoconjugates in Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics

Glycoconjugates consist of carbohydrates that are covalently linked to other biomolecules, such as amino acids, proteins, and lipids, to generate peptidoglycans, glycopeptides/glycoproteins, and glycolipids/lipopolysaccharides respectively. Post-translational glycosylation is essential for structural integrity and stability of proteins and also involved in signaling, attachment and shielding. Pathogens such as bacteria or viruses displays diverse array of carbohydrates, which in some cases involved in entry and used by viruses to evade host immune responses. Glycoconjugate vaccine provide T cell epitopes that are important for affinity maturation of polysaccharide-specific B cell. Since their introduction in 1990s, the glycoconjugate vaccines are among the safest and yielded successful results against influenza and meningococcus.

Aberrant tumor glycosylation leads to the formation of tumor-associated carbohydrates that are known to promote cancer progression by affecting tumor growth, cell invasiveness and negatively regulate immune responses via signaling through glycan-binding receptors on immune cells. Several cancer associated glycans have been identified, and therapies targeting glycans such as vaccines, antibodies etc. are under development.

In this research topic, we want to cover the recent development in glyco-conjugate vaccines against human pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, and also glyco-focused immunotherapies for cancers. We aim to present the studies about chemical and enzymatic methods for glyco-conjugate synthesis and vaccine design, glyconanoparticle vaccine, immunological studies of glycoconjugate vaccines, novel antibodies targeting tumor glycans, developments in targeting of glycan-binding lectins on tumor cells, and glycan-based therapies to combat SARS-CoV-2.

We welcome the submission of Mini Reviews, Reviews, Original Research Articles, Methods Articles and Clinical Trial Articles covering, but not limited to, the following sub-topics:

1. Synthetic and enzymatic methodologies for glyco-conjugate vaccines and their immunological evaluation 

2. Novel glycoconjugate vaccine platform to enhance B or T-cell mediated immunity

3. Glycoconjugate vaccine formulations and adjuvants for class switch

4. Developments in production of recombinant glycoconjugate vaccines

5. Glycans as an immune checkpoint of T-cell activity

Topic Editor Dr. Roberto Adamo is an employee of GlaxoSmithKline (Italy). Topic Editor Dr. Sanjiv holds shares of Oxcia AB. The other Topic Editors declare no conflict of interest with regards to the Research Topic theme.