Molecular Mechanism of Infectious Disease

Dear Colleagues,

The acute infection of pathogens elicits strong immune responses in the host to clear invading pathogens and infected cells. These innate and adaptive immune responses lead to the eventual recovery of most infected individuals. Numerous proteins from pathogens, signal molecules, receptors, cytokines, and chemokines have been known to be involved in this process. Each pathogen has unique ways to infect, and has employed mechanisms to escape and/or evade the host immune responses. In some cases, acute symptoms develop into fatal systemic deterioration showing coagulation abnormality or immunological tolerance. Systemic reactions can lead to poor understanding of underlying biological events during the acute phase of immune response. Emerging knowledge of new inflammatory molecules revealed a novel aspect of the pathophysiology of acute infectious diseases. For example, matricellular proteins (MCPs) that are usually present in the extracellular space were found to be elevated in patients with acute infection. However, their exact roles in this context are poorly understood because MCPs have diverse functions including interactions with cell surface receptors, such as integrins, growth factors, and protease. In this Special Issue, we will focus on the novel molecules involved in infection to have a better understanding of infectious diseases.

Prof. Dr. Toshio Hattori
Guest Editor

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