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The digestive system and autoimmunity

Guest Editors:
Lina Sun: Xi’an Jiaotong University, China
Baojun Zhang: Xi'an Jiaotong University, China


BMC Immunology has published this Collection on The digestive system and autoimmunity.

The incidence of autoimmune diseases is increasing worldwide, particularly in regions where the prevalence of such diseases has historically been low. Evidence shows that risk factors for autoimmune diseases include a combination of genetic and environmental factors, such as diet and lifestyle. Global changes in behaviors and lifestyle are hypothesized to be contributing factors to these reported increases.

Meet the Guest Editors

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Lina Sun: Xi’an Jiaotong University, China

Dr Sun is currently an associate professor at the Department of Pathogenic Microbiology and Immunology, School of Basic Medical Sciences at Xi'an Jiaotong University. She obtained a PhD from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and completed postdoctoral training at The University of Georgia. Her research areas are T cell immunology and cancer immunology, with a specific focus on characterizing T cell immune responses and functions in infection, tumor, and autoimmune diseases. She has been actively serving as a peer reviewer for numerous scientific journals.

 

Baojun Zhang: Xi'an Jiaotong University, China

Dr Baojun Zhang is a professor in the Department of Pathogenic Microbiology and Immunology, and the Dean of Basic Medical School and Director of the Institute of Translational Medicine at Xi’an Jiaotong University. He obtained his PhD from Chinese Academy of Sciences and completed postdoctoral training in the Department of Immunology at Duke University. His group focuses on investigating the regulation of T cell development in thymus, as well as T cell differentiation and function in the healthy condition and disease conditions including infection, tumor and autoimmune diseases. The primary goal of his research is to identify new mechanisms controlling T cell fate and function, and potential targets for immunotherapies.

About the collection

BMC Immunology has published this Collection on The digestive system and autoimmunity.

The incidence of autoimmune diseases is increasing worldwide, particularly in regions where the prevalence of such diseases has historically been low. Evidence shows that risk factors for autoimmune diseases include a combination of genetic and environmental factors, such as diet and lifestyle. Global changes in behaviors and lifestyle are hypothesized to be contributing factors to these reported increases.

Recent studies have explored the relationship between the gut microbiota and various autoimmune diseases, as well as the link between autoimmune diseases and increasing exposure to environmental toxins and pollutants like xenobiotics and microplastics. Digestive autoimmune conditions like Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis impose a significant burden on patients as chronic and debilitating conditions, reducing well-being, requiring careful patient management, and increasing the risk of comorbidities such as cardiovascular disease.

Recognizing this growing challenge to global health and well-being, BMC Immunology has published this Collection titled "The digestive system and autoimmunity." This collection aimed to outline molecular, cellular, and organism-level research that improves our understanding of the underlying mechanisms causing autoimmune diseases affecting the digestive system. The Collection includes research related to:

  • In vitro and in vivo models of gastrointestinal autoimmune diseases
  • Signaling, crosstalk, and regulation in gastrointestinal autoimmune diseases
  • Inflammation in gastrointestinal autoimmune diseases
  • Immunogenetic causes of gastrointestinal autoimmune diseases
  • The role of the gut microbiota in autoimmune diseases
  • The effect of environmental factors on gastrointestinal autoimmunity and immune system dysregulation
  • The effect of environmental toxins and pollutants on gastrointestinal autoimmunity and immune system dysregulation
  • Clinical studies and immunotherapies for gastrointestinal autoimmune diseases
  •  Immunological mechanisms in the context of gastrointestinal diseases

By compiling research related to The digestive system and autoimmunity, BMC Immunology aimed to support the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3: Good Health and Wellbeing by fostering a comprehensive understanding of autoimmune diseases affecting the digestive system and the fundamental immunological mechanisms underlying them.

Image credit: libre de droit / Getty Images / iStock

  1. Helminth-derived proteins have immunomodulatory properties, influencing the host’s immune response as an adaptive strategy for helminth survival. Helminth-derived proteins modulate the immune response by induc...

    Authors: Maimonah Alghanmi, Faisal Minshawi, Tarfa A. Altorki, Ayat Zawawi, Isra Alsaady, Abdallah Y Naser, Hassan Alwafi, Soa’ad M. Alsulami, Ala A. Azhari, Anwar M Hashem and Rowa Alhabbab
    Citation: BMC Immunology 2024 25:21
    Content type: Research Published on:

  2. We aimed to investigate the immune characteristics of intestinal CD8+ gamma delta T (CD8+ γδ T) cells in Crohn’s disease (CD) and their correlation with disease activity.

    Authors: Tao Zhu, Linlin Zhu, Caixia Sheng, Danju Wu, Qianru Gu, Zhinong Jiang, Jiaqi Xu, Guoxiang Fu and Yujie Jiang
    Citation: BMC Immunology 2024 25:15
    Content type: Research Published on:

  3. Digestive autoimmune conditions are a growing challenge to global health. Risk factors associated with autoimmune digestive diseases are complex, including genetic variation, immunological dysfunction, and var...

    Authors: Lina Sun and Baojun Zhang
    Citation: BMC Immunology 2023 24:36
    Content type: Editorial Published on:

Submission Guidelines

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This Collection welcomes submission of original Research Articles. Should you wish to submit a different article type, please read our submission guidelines to confirm that type is accepted by the journal. Articles for this Collection should be submitted via our submission system, Snapp. During the submission process you will be asked whether you are submitting to a Collection, please select "The digestive system and autoimmunity" from the dropdown menu.

Articles will undergo the journal’s standard peer-review process and are subject to all of the journal’s standard policies. Articles will be added to the Collection as they are published.

The Guest Editors have no competing interests with the submissions which they handle through the peer review process. The peer review of any submissions for which the Guest Editors have competing interests is handled by another Editorial Board Member who has no competing interests.