Barrier function and the immune system
- Submission status
- Open
The immune system’s front line of defence against pathogens are the barriers presented by surfaces including the skin, gut mucosa and airway epithelium. Whilst providing a physical barrier through a highly structured arrangement of cells, tissues also present a chemical barrier in the form of secretions that prevent pathogenic attachment. Pathogens interact with these barriers through specific receptors and molecular pathways and disruption of barrier function is one of the major triggers of the inflammatory response. Impaired barrier function is also associated with autoimmune diseases, such as gastrointestinal disease, and is therefore a target for the development of novel treatment strategies.
This Collection welcomes manuscripts that increase our understanding of the role and mechanisms of barrier function in the immune response in a range of tissues, study how this response is modulated by interactions with various pathogens or in autoimmune diseases, and explore novel treatment strategies that restore or regulate barrier function.
Editors
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Marina Casalino-Matsuda
Northwestern University, USA
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Brice Sperandio
INSERM, France
Marina Casalino-Matsuda is an Associate Professor at the Pulmonary and Critical Care Division, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University. Her research focuses on innate immunity and host defence in the lung. First, she aims to study the effects of hypercapnia (elevated levels of CO2) on alveolar macrophages and airways infected with virus including influenza and SARS-CoV-2. Second, she seeks to delineate how alveolar macrophages become infected with SARS-CoV-2. Dr Casalino-Matsuda has been an Editorial Board Member for Scientific Reports since 2019.
Brice Sperandio is an Immunologist, Microbiologist, and Researcher at INSERM, France. He has a thorough expertise in human innate immunity and (epi)genomics. His research team at ENS Paris, France, is working on the fundamental comprehension of human antimicrobial peptide (AMP) gene regulations and translation of this knowledge in the development of an innovative therapeutic strategy based on AMP-inducer molecules to fight against antimicrobial resistance. Dr Sperandio has been an Editorial Board Member for Scientific Reports since 2019.
