About this Research Topic
The oral cavity covered by oral mucosa is the opening of the digestive tract, and it is the place where food is chewed and initially digested. So far, it has been revealed that the oral cavity has the second most complex microbiome among all the organs in the human body, only less than the colon. The continual inflammatory challenge happens at the oral mucosal barrier due to high antigenic exposure to oral microorganisms and food. Oral mucosal infections, including gingivitis, oral candidiasis, and oral herpes, have a quite high incidence. Besides infectious diseases, other non-infectious inflammatory diseases or autoimmune disorders, including oral lichen planus (OLP) and recurrent aphthous ulcer (RAU), also have a very high incidence. These oral mucosal inflammatory diseases usually have a long disease course and would relapse easily.
On the other hand, a variety of systemic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases have typical oral mucosal inflammatory phenotypes. More than that, mental stress, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy could also cause oral mucositis. More and more evidence proves that oral mucosal immunity is an important part of the mucosal immune system, and the inflammation in oral mucosa could affect the immune homeostasis in the gastrointestinal mucosa and throughout the body. Therefore, the immune homeostasis of the oral mucosa is indispensable for systemic health. In recent years, the tissue-specific immunity in the oral mucosa is attracting more and more attention. This provides an excellent opportunity to shed more light on the mechanisms of immune homeostasis in the oral mucosa and to reveal the immune pathogenesis of oral mucosal inflammatory diseases, including oral infectious diseases and non-infectious inflammatory diseases.
The purpose of this Research Topic is to collect the latest research advances regarding the regulation of innate and adaptive immunity in the oral mucosa in health and disease. We would like to welcome Original Research, Clinical trials, Review, Systematic Reviews, Mini-Review, Hypotheses, and Theory articles that are related to, but are not limited to, the following subtopics:
1. Specific regulatory mechanisms of oral mucosal innate and adaptive immunity in immune homeostasis and inflammation.
2. The crosstalk of oral mucosa tissue-specific immunity and systemic immunity.
3. The oral microbiome-mediated innate and adaptive immunity in oral mucosal tolerance and inflammation.
4. Interaction of epithelial and immune cells in oral mucosal inflammatory diseases.
On the other hand, a variety of systemic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases have typical oral mucosal inflammatory phenotypes. More than that, mental stress, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy could also cause oral mucositis. More and more evidence proves that oral mucosal immunity is an important part of the mucosal immune system, and the inflammation in oral mucosa could affect the immune homeostasis in the gastrointestinal mucosa and throughout the body. Therefore, the immune homeostasis of the oral mucosa is indispensable for systemic health. In recent years, the tissue-specific immunity in the oral mucosa is attracting more and more attention. This provides an excellent opportunity to shed more light on the mechanisms of immune homeostasis in the oral mucosa and to reveal the immune pathogenesis of oral mucosal inflammatory diseases, including oral infectious diseases and non-infectious inflammatory diseases.
The purpose of this Research Topic is to collect the latest research advances regarding the regulation of innate and adaptive immunity in the oral mucosa in health and disease. We would like to welcome Original Research, Clinical trials, Review, Systematic Reviews, Mini-Review, Hypotheses, and Theory articles that are related to, but are not limited to, the following subtopics:
1. Specific regulatory mechanisms of oral mucosal innate and adaptive immunity in immune homeostasis and inflammation.
2. The crosstalk of oral mucosa tissue-specific immunity and systemic immunity.
3. The oral microbiome-mediated innate and adaptive immunity in oral mucosal tolerance and inflammation.
4. Interaction of epithelial and immune cells in oral mucosal inflammatory diseases.
Keywords: Oral Mucosal Immunity, Homeostasis, Inflammation, immunology, digestion
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.
