The Application of Single-Cell Technologies for Vaccine Development Against Viral Infections

The development of vaccines against viral infections has advanced rapidly over the past century, propelled by innovations in laboratory and molecular technologies. These advances have expanded the range of vaccine platforms beyond live-attenuated and inactivated vaccines to include recombinant platf...

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Main Authors: Hong Nhi Nguyen, Isabel O. Vanderzee, Fei Wen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-06-01
Series:Vaccines
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/13/7/687
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author Hong Nhi Nguyen
Isabel O. Vanderzee
Fei Wen
author_facet Hong Nhi Nguyen
Isabel O. Vanderzee
Fei Wen
author_sort Hong Nhi Nguyen
collection DOAJ
description The development of vaccines against viral infections has advanced rapidly over the past century, propelled by innovations in laboratory and molecular technologies. These advances have expanded the range of vaccine platforms beyond live-attenuated and inactivated vaccines to include recombinant platforms, such as subunit proteins and virus-like particles (VLPs), and more recently, mRNA-based vaccines, while also enhancing methods for evaluating vaccine performance. Despite these innovations, a persistent challenge remains: the inherent complexity and heterogeneity of immune responses continue to impede efforts to achieve consistently effective and durable protection across diverse populations. Single-cell technologies have emerged as transformative tools for dissecting this immune heterogeneity, providing comprehensive and granular insights into cellular phenotypes, functional states, and dynamic host–pathogen interactions. In this review, we examine how single-cell epigenomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and multi-omics approaches are being integrated across all stages of vaccine development—from infection-informed discovery to guide vaccine design, to high-resolution evaluation of efficacy, and refinement of cell lines for manufacturing. Through representative studies, we highlight how insights from these technologies contribute to the rational design of more effective vaccines and support the development of personalized vaccination strategies.
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spelling doaj-art-0da157a5ef964a14a6ca863171e2b6c72025-08-20T02:47:22ZengMDPI AGVaccines2076-393X2025-06-0113768710.3390/vaccines13070687The Application of Single-Cell Technologies for Vaccine Development Against Viral InfectionsHong Nhi Nguyen0Isabel O. Vanderzee1Fei Wen2Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USAGraduate Program in Immunology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USADepartment of Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USAThe development of vaccines against viral infections has advanced rapidly over the past century, propelled by innovations in laboratory and molecular technologies. These advances have expanded the range of vaccine platforms beyond live-attenuated and inactivated vaccines to include recombinant platforms, such as subunit proteins and virus-like particles (VLPs), and more recently, mRNA-based vaccines, while also enhancing methods for evaluating vaccine performance. Despite these innovations, a persistent challenge remains: the inherent complexity and heterogeneity of immune responses continue to impede efforts to achieve consistently effective and durable protection across diverse populations. Single-cell technologies have emerged as transformative tools for dissecting this immune heterogeneity, providing comprehensive and granular insights into cellular phenotypes, functional states, and dynamic host–pathogen interactions. In this review, we examine how single-cell epigenomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and multi-omics approaches are being integrated across all stages of vaccine development—from infection-informed discovery to guide vaccine design, to high-resolution evaluation of efficacy, and refinement of cell lines for manufacturing. Through representative studies, we highlight how insights from these technologies contribute to the rational design of more effective vaccines and support the development of personalized vaccination strategies.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/13/7/687vaccine developmentvirus-like particles (VLPs)mRNArecombinant proteinsingle-cell technologymulti-omics
spellingShingle Hong Nhi Nguyen
Isabel O. Vanderzee
Fei Wen
The Application of Single-Cell Technologies for Vaccine Development Against Viral Infections
Vaccines
vaccine development
virus-like particles (VLPs)
mRNA
recombinant protein
single-cell technology
multi-omics
title The Application of Single-Cell Technologies for Vaccine Development Against Viral Infections
title_full The Application of Single-Cell Technologies for Vaccine Development Against Viral Infections
title_fullStr The Application of Single-Cell Technologies for Vaccine Development Against Viral Infections
title_full_unstemmed The Application of Single-Cell Technologies for Vaccine Development Against Viral Infections
title_short The Application of Single-Cell Technologies for Vaccine Development Against Viral Infections
title_sort application of single cell technologies for vaccine development against viral infections
topic vaccine development
virus-like particles (VLPs)
mRNA
recombinant protein
single-cell technology
multi-omics
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/13/7/687
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