New Insights into Immunity in Musculoskeletal Disorders: Focusing on Bone, Joint, and Soft Tissue Pathologies

The locomotor system, encompassing bones, joints, and soft tissues, is essential for movement and stability, relying on finely tuned immune and inflammatory processes to maintain tissue health, facilitate repair, and provide defense. Dysregulation of these immune responses, however, can lead to chronic inflammatory and degenerative conditions such as osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, tendinopathies, and osteoporosis. Additionally, factors like physical trauma can provoke acute inflammatory responses that extend beyond localized damage, affecting systemic health. Immune cells, including macrophages with M1/M2 polarization, specific T cell subsets like Th17/Treg, and innate immune components, such as the NLRP3 inflammasome, play pivotal roles in driving inflammation and pathology. Critical cytokines and signaling pathways—including IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-6, NF-κB, and JAK/STAT—further influence tissue destruction and defective repair processes. Contemporary research is shedding light on pharmacological innovations, cellular reprogramming, and metabolic controls, all essential for developing targeted interventions that restore immune balance and tissue integrity.

This Research Topic aims to collect innovative studies focused on elucidating immune and inflammatory mechanisms driving pathologies of the locomotor system. The target is to deepen understanding of cellular interactions, molecular pathways, and therapeutic targets, thus advancing precision medicine in addressing musculoskeletal disorders. Contributions are encouraged across basic, translational, and clinical studies, promoting interdisciplinary exchanges that connect immune biology with musculoskeletal health.

To gather further insights into this rapidly evolving field, we invite articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:

• Molecular mechanisms: Inflammasome activation, cytokine networks, and signaling pathways in bone/joint disorders
• Metabolic-immune crosstalk: Exploring immunometabolism in stromal-immune cell interactions within the musculoskeletal system
• Novel biomarkers: Immune-derived biomarkers for early diagnosis and therapeutic monitoring in musculoskeletal conditions
• Immune responses from trauma and infection: How these events influence the musculoskeletal system
• Therapeutic strategies: Immunomodulatory approaches including biologic agents, cell therapies, and microbiome targeting
• Tissue-specific inflammation: Insights into tendinopathy, myositis, and bone marrow inflammation mechanisms
• Autoimmunity and aging: Effects of autoantibodies and immunosenescence on musculoskeletal degeneration

Submissions should emphasize mechanistic insights or translational relevance. Collaborative studies that bridge the fields of immunology, biomechanics, biomaterials, integrating omics technologies, are particularly encouraged.