Neuroimmune Interactions in Vertebrates: From Molecular Mediators to Pathogen-Induced Dysregulation

A better understanding of neuroimmune communication is crucial for identifying conserved and divergent mechanisms across vertebrates, which may help explain differences in disease susceptibility, recovery capacity, and immune regulation in the CNS. By including studies ranging from molecular pathways to functional and behavioral outcomes, and from controlled laboratory experiments to field observations, this collection aims to bridge fundamental cellular neuroscience with applied biomedical and ecological perspectives.

This Research Topic aims to gather multidisciplinary studies exploring the interplay between the nervous and immune systems across vertebrate species. We welcome contributions addressing how neuropeptides, cytokines, glial cells, and other mediators shape immune responses in the nervous system—both under homeostatic conditions and in the context of infections or inflammatory insults. Special emphasis will be given to pathogen–host interactions involving viruses, bacteria, or parasites that affect the CNS or PNS, as well as emerging non-mammalian models (e.g., fish, amphibians) that provide novel insights into the evolution and diversity of neuroimmune mechanisms.

We encourage submissions employing diverse approaches such as molecular biology, immunohistochemistry, omics technologies, in vivo imaging, and experimental pathology, to provide a comprehensive view of how the nervous and immune systems interact in health and disease. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Neuroinflammation and glial responses to infection
• Neuropeptide-mediated modulation of neural immunity
• Comparative neuroimmunology across vertebrate models
• Behavioral or neuroendocrine consequences of neuroimmune dysregulation
• Pathogen strategies to evade or exploit the neural immune system

Article types and fees

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

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• ... 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:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review
• Specialty Grand Challenge
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Neuroimmune interactions, Neuroinflammation, Glial cells, Pathogen-host interactions, Comparative neuroimmunology

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.