Immune-related gastrointestinal disorders, exemplified by inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), arise from dysregulated immune responses to the gut microbiota in genetically predisposed individuals. Critically, nutrients serve as master modulators of the gut immune microenvironment, offering potent therapeutic avenues beyond genetic and environmental influences. Key nutrients—including short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), vitamins (D, A), omega-3 fatty acids, phytochemicals, and pre/probiotics—act not merely as metabolites but as direct signaling molecules that modulate intestinal immunity. Nutrients engage molecular sensors , such as pattern recognition receptors (TLRs, NLRP3), aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), nuclear receptors (VDR, PPARγ), and epigenetic regulators. Through these mechanisms, nutrients regulate mucosal barrier function, macrophage polarization, T-cell differentiation (e.g., Treg/Th17 balance), and cytokine networks. Dysregulation of nutrient-immune crosstalk fuels inflammation and tissue damage in disorders like IBD. Deciphering these precise molecular pathways—how nutrients shape immune homeostasis—is essential to transcend general dietary advice and develop personalized nutrition strategies. This understanding unlocks the potential for therapeutic modulation of the gut immune landscape for disease mitigation and sustained remission.

This Research Topic aims to advance mechanistic and translational research on how nutrients and bioactive compounds modulate the gut immune microenvironment to influence the pathogenesis and treatment of immune-related gastrointestinal disorders (e.g., IBD, celiac disease, autoimmune gastritis, post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome). Our primary goal is to elucidate the precise molecular mechanisms—such as immune signaling pathways, epigenetic modifications, mucosal barrier regulation, and interactions with the gut microbiome/virome—by which specific dietary components shape the immune niche, prevent inflammation, or promote resolution. We seek contributions investigating how nutrients act as ligands for immune/epithelial sensors, alter immune cell function, impact barrier integrity, or shift mucosal metabolic/redox states. Furthermore, we encourage studies translating these mechanisms into therapeutic potential, including actionable dietary interventions, personalized nutrition strategies, or biomarker discovery for managing immune-mediated gut diseases. This collection will bridge basic science and clinical research to foster causal understanding and mechanism-driven nutritional therapies

We invite original research (basic, clinical, epidemiological), systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and methodological papers exploring how nutrients and dietary components modulate the gut immune microenvironment to influence the pathogenesis and therapy of immune-related gastrointestinal disorders. Relevant topics include, but are not limited to:

- Molecular mechanisms of nutrient sensing (e.g., AhR, mTOR, HIF), nutrient-driven epigenetic modifications, and their impact on gut immunity, barrier function, and epithelial repair.

- The comprehensive interactions and mechanisms among nutrients, bioactive components, intestinal inflammation, oxidative stress, and mucosal immune responses.

- Probiotics, postbiotics, and gut metabolites as immunomodulatory signals in pathogenesis/therapy.

- Novel nutrient exposure biomarkers linked to gut immune status or disease progression.

- Dietary patterns (e.g., exclusive enteral nutrition, specific elimination diets) and their molecular signatures/immunomodulatory effects.

Are you interested in contributing a manuscript to this Research Topic?

Modulating the Gut Immune Microenvironment through Nutrients: Molecular Mechanisms and Therapeutic Potential in Immune-Related Gastrointestinal Disorders