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Autoimmune Diseases: Immune Cells and Genetic and Epigenetic Regulations

A special issue of Cells (ISSN 2073-4409). This special issue belongs to the section "Cellular Immunology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2026 | Viewed by 1054

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Institute National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), Paris, France
Interests: immune tolerance; autoimmunity; epigenetics; B lymphocytes; innate immunity; biotherapeutics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Autoimmune diseases represent a complex group of disorders characterized by the immune system mistakenly attacking the body’s own tissues. These conditions can affect nearly any organ or tissue, leading to chronic inflammation, tissue damage, and varying degrees of functional impairment. Understanding autoimmune diseases requires insight into the intricate interplay between immune cells and genetic and epigenetic regulations that govern immune tolerance and activation. Deciphering the mechanisms behind autoimmunity is vital for developing targeted therapies that can restore immune tolerance and reduce inflammation, ultimately improving outcomes for patients affected by these chronic and often debilitating disorders.

This Special Issue will focus on the mechanisms underlying the disruption of immune tolerance in autoimmune diseases and recent approaches aiming to design novel therapeutic strategies for this group of disorders.

Genes determining susceptibility to autoimmune diseases and their variants will be considered. The role of immune cells, including T Lymphocytes, B Lymphocytes, antigen-presenting cells, natural killer cells, and innate lymphoid cells, will be discussed.

Epigenetic modifications, such as DNA methylation, histone modification, and non-coding RNAs, and environmental factors that can induce epigenetic changes, potentially triggering autoimmunity in genetically predisposed individuals, will also be discussed.

Factual and review-type articles are welcome.

Dr. Moncef M. Zouali
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • autoimmune diseases
  • immune cells
  • lymphocytes
  • antigen-presenting cells
  • natural killer cells
  • innate lymphoid cells
  • epigenetic modifications
  • autoimmunity

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

20 pages, 1563 KB  
Article
Association Between Complete Blood Count and the Lipoxygenase Pathway in Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis
by Karolina Wrońska, Maciej Ziętek, Tomasz Machałowski and Małgorzata Szczuko
Cells 2025, 14(24), 1933; https://doi.org/10.3390/cells14241933 - 5 Dec 2025
Viewed by 867
Abstract
Background: Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis (HT) is one of the most common autoimmune diseases worldwide, yet little is known about the role of lipid mediators in its pathogenesis. This study investigated whether there is a link between complete blood count (CBC) and arachidonic acid (AA) [...] Read more.
Background: Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis (HT) is one of the most common autoimmune diseases worldwide, yet little is known about the role of lipid mediators in its pathogenesis. This study investigated whether there is a link between complete blood count (CBC) and arachidonic acid (AA) derivatives resulting from the activation of lipoxygenases (LOX) in 39 female patients with HT. Material and Methods: Blood samples were used as the research material. Liquid chromatography was employed to analyze the lipid mediators. Results: Neutropenia, lymphopenia and basopenia were observed in the women studied. An increase in mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and low haematocrit (HCT) and hemoglobin (HGB) levels were also noted. The highest amounts of hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acids (5S-HETE, 12S-HETE and 15S-HETE) and 5-oxo-eicosatetraenoic acid (5-oxo-ETE) were observed in the study group. The strongest positive correlations were observed between the acids and C-reactive protein (CRP), neutrophils (NEUT), and eosinophils (EOS). Furthermore, significant correlations between eicosanoids and anthropometric parameters were also presented. Conclusions: Eicosanoids may play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of HT, affecting complete blood count. Further research in this area could lead to the development of new diagnostic markers and therapeutic strategies, including those aimed at the anticancer treatment of this gland. Full article
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