Interaction Between Microbiota and Immunity in Health and Diseases
A special issue of Biomedicines (ISSN 2227-9059). This special issue belongs to the section "Microbiology in Human Health and Disease".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2025 | Viewed by 68
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
It is now clear that the gut mucosal immune system has co-evolved to promote stable interactions with the trillions of commensal bacteria that harbor our bodies. The mucosal immune system interacts with the human microbiota across a continuum of potential relationships, from tightly regulated symbiosis to outright antagonism. In particular, the effector mechanisms of inflammation must be kept in check, given their potential for collateral damage. The gut mucosal immune system is the frontline effector arm of the body's defense against pathogens that enter via the oral route. The close physical, metabolic, and immunologic connections between gut microbiota and the mucosal immune system have important implications for human health and disease. Gut commensals affect immune development, maturation, and function in multiple anatomical sites in monogastric hosts. The enteric immune system has evolved to sense the composition and local organization of the microbiota; in particular, various pattern recognition receptors are expressed on innate immune cells in specific anatomical niches, such as lamina propria, Peyer's patches, and the mesenteric lymph nodes. Germ-free animals are characterized by the underdeveloped and hypo-functional characteristics of their mucosal immune system, leading to the new paradigm that developing mucosal immune tissue captures antigenic material mainly associated with colonization from birth onwards. Despite the myriad effects of microbiota on innate and adaptive arms of the immune system, the dynamic changes in mucosal sites—notably, recruitment, compartmentalization, and functional properties of immune cell populations—are highly dependent on the presence of commensals.
We are pleased to invite you to our Special Issue entitled "Interaction Between Microbiota and Immunity in Health and Diseases" to further understand probiotics, prebiotics, and new technologies, such as metagenomics, in order to further expand the potential for their application in the management of infectious and non-communicable diseases in humans and animal health. The actions of beneficial microorganisms, such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi, in maintaining health have been studied extensively in the immune system, especially with regard to the intestinal tract. Probiotics as well as commensal microbes and pathobionts play a critical role in shaping host immune responses.
We eagerly await your contributions to this Special Issue.
Prof. Dr. Giuseppe Merra
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- microbiota
- microbiome
- inflammation
- immunity
- epithelial barrier
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