About this Research Topic
Regardless of mechanisms that drive the increased requirement for immune activation, the pediatric population is particularly vulnerable to disease. Disruption in the normal development of the immune system can have the opposite effect of hypo-responsiveness, which can result in inflammatory disease. For example, diseases of prematurity include inflammation of the lung (e.g. Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia) and brain (e.g. periventricular leukomalacia). Other common childhood inflammatory diseases that are not necessarily associated with prematurity include asthma, allergies, and type I diabetes.
In this Research Topic, we call for publications that relate to the pediatric immune response to a variety of diseases associated with aberrant activation of the pediatric immune system. Such conditions include, but are not limited to:
1. Autoimmune and pediatric rheumatological diseases (Type 1 diabetes, atopic dermatitis, and inflammatory bowel disease)
2. Inflammatory Diseases in premature infants (e.g. Bronchopulmonary dysplasia, periventricular leukomalacia, necrotizing enterocolitis) with a focus on the immune system
3. New potential therapeutic targets targeting the immune system in infants
4. Activation of the immune system in, and immunotherapies for, common childhood cancers
Article types considered for this Research Topic include Original Research, Review, Perspective, and Clinical trial articles. Studies that utilize animal models, cell culture systems, and/or human subject studies that integrate high-dimensional datasets are encouraged. Furthermore, work presenting potential cellular and molecular therapeutic targets are of interest. Overall, we aim to bring additional attention to how aberrant immune responses in the pediatric population relate to common childhood disease, and how such disease processes could be disrupted.
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.