Inter-organ Dynamics in Health and Disease: From the Gut–Liver Axis to the Gut–Liver–X Axis

Inter-organ communication is a biological imperative implicit in a single multi-organ system: the body. Organ systems have co-evolved over long periods of time to achieve systemic fitness as well as to perform their unique functions. Ultimately, this inter-organ co-evolution is genetically imprinted, programmed, and briefly represented during the developmental process, from the fertilized egg to the adult organism. After a certain point in this process-and throughout the lifetime-organs may actively and ceaselessly communicate, much of which remains beyond our current understanding. However, a growing body of evidence from basic science and clinical observations highlights that inter-organ communication may be a fundamental variable that determines the spectrum of health and disease conditions, comparable to conventional aetiologies such as genetic and environmental factors. Therefore, developing a detailed mechanistic understanding of inter-organ dynamic modalities will help overcome the stochastic nature of pathophysiology of various diseases, such as inflammation, malignancy, and comorbidities.

Contemporary advances in methodology, including genetically engineered model organisms, multi-omics, and computational modelling, present an ideal moment to explicitly elucidate the genetic, cellular and molecular mechanisms of inter-organ dynamics, in which organs are interconnected and interdependent to monitor and calibrate both local and systemic homeostasis, or, if disrupted, to initiate or exacerbate disease conditions. Therefore, this research topic aims to construct new discourses on inter-organ dynamics through advanced experimental approaches and theoretical/conceptual frameworks. Given the liver’s central role in whole-body energy metabolism, progressive functional deterioration of the liver has been considered as a founding risk factor in various diseases. Indeed, comorbid conditions with chronic liver diseases range from metabolic syndrome to inflammatory bowel disease, psoriasis, and pulmonary disease. Intriguingly, many of these comorbidities significantly overlap with the extra-intestinal manifestations of inflammatory bowel disease, underscoring the critical role of the gut-liver relationship in maintaining the health of various organs. Therefore, in the premise that reciprocal communication between the gut and liver constitutes a central axis of the single multi-organ system, this research topic will explore the role of gut-liver dynamics and gut-liver-X dynamics that exist in ways conducive to the self-integrity of a biological individual.

This Research Topic accepts Original Research, Methods, Review and Mini-Review, Hypothesis & Theory, Clinical Trial, Classification, Perspective, Case Report, Conceptual Analysis, Brief Research Report, Opinion. We welcome manuscripts focusing on, but not limited to, the following sub-topics:

• Barrier organ fitness shaped by inter-organ dynamics

• Pathophysiological mechanisms driven by disrupted inter-organ dynamics

• Inter-organ dynamics in aging and comorbidities

• Computational modeling of disease-specific inter-organ dynamics

• Identification and characterization of novel inter-organ transmitters, including exosome.

This Research Topic eschews sub-topics that focus solely on microbiota-driven immunological interpretation of inter-organ dynamics.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Case Report
• Classification
• Clinical Trial
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Case Report
• Classification
• Clinical Trial
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Inter-organ communication, gut-liver axis, gut-liver-X axis, body’s organ systems, homeostasis, disease mechanism

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.