About this Research Topic

Background

Immune-mediated diseases are important health challenges worldwide. The immune system has a central role not only in fighting infections but also in many other diseases and disorders, acute and chronic. Immune-mediated diseases are represented by hypersensitive illnesses, such as asthma, dermatitis and other allergies, as well as systemic and organ-specific autoimmune disorders, such as multiple sclerosis, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes.

The diseases of the immune system include (i) primary or inherited, and secondary or acquired, immunodeficiencies and (ii) immunoproliferative disorders, such as malignancies of the immune system (e.g., multiple myeloma, lymphoma, and leukemia), autoimmune diseases (i.e., rheumatoid arthritis), and immune hyper- sensitivities (i.e., allergies). The disorders where the immune system is not the primary cause of a disease, although plays an obvious role in the pathogenesis, include, for instance, cancer, infectious diseases, and conditions associated with organ or tissue transplantation (i.e., graft-versus-host disease). It is well known that diet plays a key role in the maintenance and optimal functioning of immune cells: nutrients and nutritional factors can help to preserve good health, influencing all aspects of human biology by connecting nutrient metabolism, gut microbiota, and immune system. Therefore, dietary intake throughout the life span ranging from conception to old age, has been hypothesized to influence the development, management and treatment of noncommunicable diseases.

The complexity of the interaction between nutrition and immunology is vast. An individual’s overall nutrition status, state of nourishment, and pattern of food intake (comprised of foods, nutrients and non-nutritive bioactive compounds) impact the functioning of the immune system; this impact can occur at the level of physical barriers (e.g., skin, intestinal mucous membranes), the microbiome, the innate immune system (e.g., macrophage function and polarization) and the adaptive immune system (e.g., T- and B-cell function). Conversely, the immune system impacts nutrition metabolism and needs, and influences the physiological response to food. Optimal nutrition for the best immunological outcomes would be nutrition, which supports the functions of immune cells allowing them to initiate effective responses against pathogens but also to resolve the response rapidly when necessary and to avoid any underlying chronic inflammation. Some micronutrients and dietary components have very specific roles in the development and maintenance of an effective immune system throughout the life course or in reducing chronic inflammation.

In this Research Topic, we will aim to discuss the potential role of nutrition in modulating and enhancing immune function in sub-clinical situations, and so prevent chronic inflammatory diseases. The field of immune-mediated diseases and the related nutrition therapy is of continuously escalating import, as well as scientifically, economically and socially important significance.

Authors are welcome to submit Original Research and Review articles on topics including but not limited to:
1. The importance of nutrients in the treatment of food allergy
2. The immunomodulating effect of diet for preventing immune-related disease, like allergies, immunoproliferative disease
3. Immune system and microbiome: food selection to improve microbiota diversity to modify immune response
4. Focusing on specific nutrients (food supplements or dietary choices/foods) to improve immune response
5. Diet and autoimmune disease in children
6. Breastfeeding: allergy prevention or treatment
7. Diet during pregnancy: aiming to prevent immune disorders
8. Complementary food: solid food introduction in (food) allergic children
8. Specific formula for milk allergic children: optimal selection according to diagnosis and symptoms
9. Asthma exacerbations: dietary choices and nutrients to improve
10. Allergic rhinitis and atopic eczema: dietary choices and nutrients to improve
11. immunoproliferative disorders, such as malignancies of the immune system (e.g., multiple myeloma, lymphoma, and leukemia)
12. Diet in high-risk children for immune-related disease (i.e family history of immune-related chronic disease)
13. Feeding the allergic child from infancy to adulthood for minimizing allergy complications
14. Dietary Patterns linked to prevention or alleviation of immune-related disease eg allergies

Keywords: Dietary management, immune mediated chronic diseases, food allergy, hepatic diseases, asthma, eczema

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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