Following the success of the COVID-19 vaccines, mRNA vaccines have now entered development for a wide range of infectious diseases. This Review discusses mRNA vaccine design considerations, delivery strategies and mechanisms of action, assessing mRNA vaccines currently in development for various viruses, bacteria and parasites. The challenges, limitations and opportunities facing next-generation mRNA vaccines are considered.

With ageing global populations, cellular senescence is gaining increasing attention as a therapeutic target. In their Review, Orr and colleagues discuss ongoing research into senescence in the central nervous system, including promising targets and drugs in development that aim to clear senescent cells or modulate their senescence-associated secretory phenotype.

Dysregulated cytokine networks are important in the pathogenesis of neuroinflammation. This Review discusses targeting cytokines and their receptors in non-infectious central nervous system inflammatory diseases such as multiple sclerosis and neurosarcoidosis, as well as in the neurotoxic adverse events that can be triggered by cancer immunotherapy.

Targeting the interactions between neurons, cancer cells and other elements in the tumour microenvironment represents a potential paradigm shift in cancer treatment. This Review article provides an overview of the dynamics of the nerve–cancer cell interplay as well as a discussion of current preclinical and clinical evidence of the benefits of targeting the nervous system in cancer.