Persistent Intracellular Pathogens: Host Circuits, Bacterial Determinants, and Emerging Therapeutic Approaches
A Special Issue of Pathogens (ISSN 2076-0817) belonging to the section "Bacterial Pathogens".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 December 2026 | Viewed by 123
Editors
Interests: persistent intracellular infections; host–pathogen interactions; immune evasion; bacterial adaptation; immunomodulation
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Persistent intracellular bacterial infections remain a major global health challenge and are increasingly recognized as dynamic host–pathogen interactions shaped by immune regulation, bacterial adaptation, and tissue-specific microenvironments. Pathogens including Mycobacterium tuberculosis, non-tuberculous mycobacteria, Salmonella enterica, Brucella, Listeria, and Chlamydia have evolved sophisticated mechanisms to survive host immune responses and establish persistent infection states. Understanding the molecular and cellular pathways that govern persistence is essential for the development of improved therapeutics and host-directed interventions.
This Special Issue welcomes original research articles, reviews, and perspectives which address mechanisms underlying persistent intracellular infections. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, immune evasion strategies, host immune circuits, bacterial genomics and adaptation strategies, and pathogen-induced tissue-remodelling. We also encourage submissions exploring translational and therapeutic approaches, including antimicrobial development, host-directed therapies, immunomodulation and emerging vaccination strategies.
By integrating insights from microbiology, immunology and translational medicine, this Special Issue aims to provide a comprehensive platform for advancing our understanding of persistent intracellular pathogens and identifying new avenues for therapeutic intervention.
Dr. Daniel S.C. Butler
Dr. Komal Rao-Fransson
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
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-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Pathogens is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2400 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
- persistent intracellular infections
- host–pathogen interactions
- immune evasion
- bacterial adaptation
- immunomodulation
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