Breaking Barriers: The Breakdown of Epithelial Defenses by Pathogens
A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Medical Microbiology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 48
Special Issue Editor
Interests: neuroimmunology; respiratory viral infection; epithelial barriers; cognition and behavior impairment; neurotrophins; neurotransmitters
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Epithelial and epithelial-like barriers form the first and most crucial line of defense between host tissues and the external environment or internal compartments. These include the skin, respiratory epithelium, gastrointestinal tract, urogenital epithelium, ocular and nasal mucosa, and the specialized blood–brain barrier (BBB). This tightly regulated endothelial structure protects the central nervous system, with the barriers regulating nutrient exchange, preventing microbial invasion, and initiating immune responses.
Pathogens, including bacteria, viruses, and fungi, have evolved sophisticated strategies to breach, bypass, or exploit these barriers to facilitate colonization, dissemination, and immune evasion. The breakdown of epithelial and endothelial barriers is a key step in acute infections and plays a critical role in chronic inflammation, tissue damage, and systemic diseases.
This Special Topic aims to provide a comprehensive, cross-organ perspective on how pathogens compromise epithelial integrity and the resulting consequences for infection and host health. We encourage submissions of original research, reviews, mini-reviews, and perspectives exploring molecular mechanisms, host responses, experimental models, and potential therapeutic interventions.
This Special Issue, entitled "Breaking Barriers: The Breakdown of Epithelial Defenses by Pathogens”, aims to present recent research on any aspect of the mechanisms by which pathogens interact with, disrupt, or exploit epithelial and endothelial barriers across different organ systems. Some of its focal points include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Mechanisms of barrier disruption by bacterial toxins, viral proteins, and fungal enzymes (e.g., tight junction degradation, endocytosis, transcytosis, apoptosis).
- Organ-specific and systemic perspectives, including:
- Skin and wound-associated infections.
- Airway epithelium in respiratory infections.
- Gut epithelium in enteric diseases.
- Urogenital epithelium in sexually transmitted infections.
- Ocular and nasal barriers in mucosal pathogen entry.
- Blood–brain barrier (BBB) disruption in neuroinvasive infections (e.g., meningitis, encephalitis)
- Pathogen–host signaling at epithelial and endothelial interfaces.
- Inflammatory and immune responses are initiated by epithelial cells upon barrier compromise.
- Role of the microbiota in maintaining or disrupting epithelial barrier homeostasis.
Reviews, original research, and communications are welcome.
Dr. Karen Bohmwald
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- epithelial barrier
- blood–brain barrier
- barrier breakdown
- pathogen invasion
- tight junctions
- endothelial cells
- mucosal immunity
- host–pathogen interaction
- epithelial remodeling
- neuroinvasion
- respiratory tract
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