Innate immunity is essential in host protection against infections, tumors, and tissue injury that generates inflammatory responses and mediates the recruitment of immune cells as well as the production of pro- and anti-inflammatory mediators during the initiation of an immune response. However, compelling evidence indicates that innate immunity applies mechanisms beyond a simple first-line defense against pathogens, as it faces a diverse range of invading pathogens, provides complex crosstalk with adaptive immunity, and its aberrant regulation is associated with diverse pathologies. Initiation, activation, and resolution of the innate inflammatory reactions should be tightly regulated to provide effective elimination of pathogens and maintenance of tissue homeostasis, but also avoid overreacting inflammatory responses. Dysregulated innate immune reactions typically cause autoinflammatory diseases, but also contribute to chronic inflammation and autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, or inflammatory bowel disease. Although autoimmunity is defined by a loss of self-tolerance typically caused by dysregulation of the adaptive immune system, innate immunity exerts a key role in the initiation, progression, and perpetuation of chronic inflammation and autoimmunity.
Autoimmune and chronic inflammatory diseases have become a major clinical burden over the last decades, as their incidence is increasing, and therapeutic options are still limited. Despite significant intuition into the pathogenesis of these diseases, unspecific immunosuppressive medications are the mainstay of therapies, where these therapeutic strategies are hampered by the absence of long-term efficacy and/or safety. Due to these issues, high morbidity and often disease-related mortality are seen in patients. Hence, there is an unmet medical need for the development of efficient therapies for autoimmune and chronic inflammatory diseases. Given the major impact of dysregulated innate immunity on autoimmune diseases and chronic inflammation, expanding knowledge, and understanding of the complex mechanisms and pathways regulating the innate immune system could provide insights into the design of new classes of targeted therapeutics that might specifically block or reduce inflammatory responses driven by the innate immune system.
In this Research Topic, we aim to foster knowledge and evidence on mechanisms that target innate immunity and inflammatory responses in autoimmune diseases and chronic inflammation, which could be helpful in promoting the designing of urgently needed novel therapeutic strategies. This Research Topic welcomes all types of manuscripts, including Original Research, Reviews, Mini-Reviews, Case Reports, Opinion, and Methods articles with a focus on basic, translational, or clinical studies that target autoimmune diseases (AD) and chronic inflammation (CI) including, but not limited to:
1) Cellular and molecular mechanisms driving Innate inflammatory responses in AD and CI
2) Innate immune cells in the initiation and progression of AD and CI
3) Dysregulated inflammatory mechanisms involved in AD and CI
4) Mechanisms that bridge innate and adaptive immunity in the development of AD and CI
5) Inflammatory cytokines and biomarkers contribute to AD and CI
6) Therapeutic strategies target innate immunity Inflammation in AD and CI
Innate immunity is essential in host protection against infections, tumors, and tissue injury that generates inflammatory responses and mediates the recruitment of immune cells as well as the production of pro- and anti-inflammatory mediators during the initiation of an immune response. However, compelling evidence indicates that innate immunity applies mechanisms beyond a simple first-line defense against pathogens, as it faces a diverse range of invading pathogens, provides complex crosstalk with adaptive immunity, and its aberrant regulation is associated with diverse pathologies. Initiation, activation, and resolution of the innate inflammatory reactions should be tightly regulated to provide effective elimination of pathogens and maintenance of tissue homeostasis, but also avoid overreacting inflammatory responses. Dysregulated innate immune reactions typically cause autoinflammatory diseases, but also contribute to chronic inflammation and autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, or inflammatory bowel disease. Although autoimmunity is defined by a loss of self-tolerance typically caused by dysregulation of the adaptive immune system, innate immunity exerts a key role in the initiation, progression, and perpetuation of chronic inflammation and autoimmunity.
Autoimmune and chronic inflammatory diseases have become a major clinical burden over the last decades, as their incidence is increasing, and therapeutic options are still limited. Despite significant intuition into the pathogenesis of these diseases, unspecific immunosuppressive medications are the mainstay of therapies, where these therapeutic strategies are hampered by the absence of long-term efficacy and/or safety. Due to these issues, high morbidity and often disease-related mortality are seen in patients. Hence, there is an unmet medical need for the development of efficient therapies for autoimmune and chronic inflammatory diseases. Given the major impact of dysregulated innate immunity on autoimmune diseases and chronic inflammation, expanding knowledge, and understanding of the complex mechanisms and pathways regulating the innate immune system could provide insights into the design of new classes of targeted therapeutics that might specifically block or reduce inflammatory responses driven by the innate immune system.
In this Research Topic, we aim to foster knowledge and evidence on mechanisms that target innate immunity and inflammatory responses in autoimmune diseases and chronic inflammation, which could be helpful in promoting the designing of urgently needed novel therapeutic strategies. This Research Topic welcomes all types of manuscripts, including Original Research, Reviews, Mini-Reviews, Case Reports, Opinion, and Methods articles with a focus on basic, translational, or clinical studies that target autoimmune diseases (AD) and chronic inflammation (CI) including, but not limited to:
1) Cellular and molecular mechanisms driving Innate inflammatory responses in AD and CI
2) Innate immune cells in the initiation and progression of AD and CI
3) Dysregulated inflammatory mechanisms involved in AD and CI
4) Mechanisms that bridge innate and adaptive immunity in the development of AD and CI
5) Inflammatory cytokines and biomarkers contribute to AD and CI
6) Therapeutic strategies target innate immunity Inflammation in AD and CI