Developing T Cell Epitope-Based Vaccines Against Infection: Challenging but Worthwhile

T cell epitope-based vaccines are designed to elicit long-lived pathogen-specific memory T cells that can quickly activate protective effector functions in response to subsequent infections. These vaccines have the potential to provide sustained protection against mutated variants, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which are increasingly capable of evading neutralizing antibodies. Recent advancements in epitope discovery, T cell receptor analysis, and bioinformatics have enabled the precise selection of epitopes and the sophisticated design of epitope-based vaccines. This review outlines the development process for T cell epitope-based vaccines. We summarize the current progress in T cell epitope discovery technologies, highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of each method. We also examine advancements in the design and optimization of epitope-based vaccines, particularly through bioinformatics tools. Additionally, we discuss the challenges of validating the accurate processing and presentation of individual epitopes and establishing suitable rodent models to evaluate vaccine immunogenicity and protective efficacy.