Regulation of Host Innate Immunity During Pathogens Infection
A special issue of Pathogens (ISSN 2076-0817). This special issue belongs to the section "Immunological Responses and Immune Defense Mechanisms".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2026 | Viewed by 41
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Bacterial pathogens exploit and subvert innate immune circuits, making regulated cell death a decisive determinant of infection outcome. Pattern-recognition receptors (TLRs, NLRs, RLRs, and cGAS–STING) detect extracellular and cytosolic cues and thereby coordinate antimicrobial programs while gating apoptosis, pyroptosis, necroptosis, ferroptosis, and emerging PANoptosis. Across Gram-negative and Gram-positive infections, inflammasome activation (e.g., NLRP3, NLRC4, AIM2) drives caspase-1–dependent gasdermin D cleavage, IL-1β/IL-18 release, and pyroptotic lysis that can both restrict bacterial replication and propagate tissue injury. Parallel axes—caspase-8-tuned apoptosis and RIPK1/3–MLKL necroptosis—serve as fail-safe backups when pathogens block one route, while lipid peroxidation-driven ferroptosis shapes bacterial fitness in iron-rich niches. Timing and magnitude matter: premature lytic death fuels pathology; delayed death enables intracellular persistence.
Bacteria deploy effectors and toxins to rewrite this choreography—modulating ubiquitination, ion flux, mitochondrial stress, and interferon signaling—to influence fate decisions. Host metabolic tone (glycolysis, itaconate, NADPH/ROS) and organ-specific cues further calibrate death thresholds and cytokine milieus. These multilayered controls highlight actionable opportunities for host-directed therapy: small molecules that temper priming or pore formation, inhibitors or activators targeting gasdermins, RIPK1/3–MLKL checkpoints or lipid peroxidation pathways, and GPCR/ion-channel ligands that reset danger signaling without blunting bacterial clearance.
This Special Issue will spotlight (i) pathogen-specific logic of death pathway selection; (ii) cross-talk among pyroptosis, apoptosis, and necroptosis (PANoptosis); (iii) metabolic and interferon control of death timing.
Dr. Xin Ran
Guest Editor
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. 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 2200 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
- pathogens
- bacterial pathogens
- pattern-recognition receptors
- innate immune circuits
- gram-negative and gram-positive infections
- inflammasome activation
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
