REVIEW article
Front. Immunol.
Sec. Cytokines and Soluble Mediators in Immunity
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1654450
This article is part of the Research TopicCommunity Series in Unraveling the Molecular Mechanisms of Cytokine Signaling in Regulating Inflammatory Diseases: Volume ⅡView all 4 articles
Advances in Immunology of Obstructive Sleep Apnea: Mechanistic Insights, Clinical Impact, and Therapeutic Perspectives
Provisionally accepted
Na Dong1*
Hongmei Yue2- 1Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
- 2Lanzhou University First Hospital, Lanzhou, China
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Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) drives immune dysregulation through its hallmark stressors— intermittent hypoxia (IH) and sleep fragmentation (SF). Beyond impaired sleep, OSA acts as a systemic inflammatory trigger that disrupts immune homeostasis and reshapes both innate and adaptive responses. Recent evidence shows that OSA activates hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α), NF-κB signaling, and the NLRP3 inflammasome, promoting chronic inflammation and immune-cell dysfunction. These alterations mechanistically contribute to OSA-associated cardiovascular disease, metabolic disorders, cognitive impairment, and tumor progression. Reframing OSA as an immune-modulating disorder highlights the need for diagnostics and therapies guided by immunology rather than airway management alone.
Keywords: obstructive sleep apnea, intermittent hypoxia, Inflammation, Immune dysregulation, CPAP, Immunotherapy
Received: 26 Jun 2025; Accepted: 07 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Dong and Yue. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Na Dong, dongn2021@lzu.edu.cn
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