The integration of single-cell and spatial transcriptomics with advanced metabolic profiling tools has revolutionized the study of immune metabolism, particularly in the context of immune-related disorders. These cutting-edge techniques have provided unprecedented insights into the cellular mechanisms that drive disease processes, offering detailed views of cellular behavior and interactions at an individual cell level. Despite these advancements, a significant gap remains in our understanding of how immune cells adapt their metabolic processes in dynamic disease environments. Recent studies utilizing tools such as single-cell Flux Estimation Analysis (scFEA), the Metabolic Cost model (Mebocost), and single-cell Metabolism (scMetabolism) have begun to address these challenges by dissecting the metabolic activities of immune cells. These technologies reveal how metabolic reprogramming within immune cells supports or inhibits disease processes. However, the application of these technologies to explore the metabolic underpinnings of immune cell function across a range of immune-related disorders is still emerging. These conditions, characterized by complex metabolic rewiring that supports disease persistence and resistance to treatments, require sophisticated analyses that capture both the static state of immune cell metabolisms and their evolution over time and in response to therapy.
This research topic aims to bridge these gaps by applying cutting-edge single-cell and spatial transcriptomics tools, coupled with metabolic profiling technologies like scFEA, Mebocost, and scMetabolism. Our goal is to comprehensively map the metabolic pathways that govern immune cell functions across various immune-related disorders. We seek to explore how immune cells modify their metabolic pathways during disease progression, how these metabolic shifts influence disease outcomes, and how metabolic intervention could alter the course of these disorders. By focusing on a broad spectrum of immune-related diseases, this collection hopes to uncover new metabolic targets for therapy and enhance our understanding of the tissue-specific metabolic interactions that dictate immune cell function and disease progression.
To gather further insights into the metabolic dynamics of immune cells across various immune-related diseases, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:
- Comprehensive Metabolic Profiling: Detailed analyses of immune cell metabolism using scFEA, Mebocost, and scMetabolism.
- Disease-Specific Metabolic Insights: Studies on how metabolic pathways differ among various immune-related diseases.
- Therapeutic Implications: Exploration of potential metabolic targets for innovative treatment strategies.
Keywords: Single-cell transcriptomics, spatial transcriptomics, immune metabolism, disease dynamics, metabolic flux
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.
