The Interactions of Diet, Genes, Gut Microbiota and Immune System in Health and Disease
A special issue of Gastrointestinal Disorders (ISSN 2624-5647).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 May 2026
Special Issue Editors
2. School of Medicine, Dentistry and Nursing, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
Interests: inflammatory bowel disease; Crohn’s disease; ulcerative colitis; diet; nutrition; gastroenterology; dietary interventions; microbiome; nutritional therapy; enteral nutrition
Interests: gynecological oncology; gynecological surgery; biomarkers in obstetrics and gynecology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Health and disease result from complex and dynamic interactions between diet, host genetics, the gut microbiome, and the immune system. Each of these factors can act independently or in concert: diet influences microbial communities and immune responses; genetic variants shape nutrient metabolism, barrier integrity, and disease susceptibility; and the gut microbiota modulates immune development and tolerance. Exploring how these elements interact—whether in pairs, in networks, or as part of broader systems—is key to understanding disease mechanisms and informing personalized prevention and treatment strategies, including nutrition-based approaches for individuals with genetic predispositions.
This Special Issue welcomes original research articles and high-quality reviews that investigate how diet interfaces with host biology at multiple levels. Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:
- The impact of diet on the gut microbiome and host immunity.
- Gene–diet interactions influencing metabolism, gut health, and immune regulation.
- Nutrition strategies for disease prevention in genetically predisposed individuals.
- Microbiome–immune system crosstalk shaped by nutritional factors.
- Multi-omics and integrative approaches to unravel complex diet–gene–microbe–immune networks.
- Dietary modulation of inflammatory, autoimmune, metabolic, and gastrointestinal disorders.
- Translational and clinical studies linking nutrition with host genetics, microbiota, and immune function.
By highlighting both focused and integrative perspectives, this Special Issue aims to advance the understanding of how diet interacts with genetics, the gut microbiota, and the immune system to influence human health and disease. We look forward to receiving your valuable contributions.
Dr. Vaios Svolos
Dr. Athina A. Samara
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Gastrointestinal Disorders is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- diet–microbiome interactions
- gene–diet interactions
- nutritional immunology
- personalized nutrition
- nutrition strategies for disease prevention
- genetically predisposed populations
- host–microbe crosstalk
- gut barrier function
- inflammation
- immune-mediated diseases
- metabolic disorders
- gastrointestinal health
- multi-omics integration
- microbiota-targeted interventions
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