About this Research Topic
Stem cells possess self-renewing and quiescent capacity, phenotypic plasticity, and detoxifying abilities. These specialized cells reside in specialized niche compartment of some key organs of our body such as lung and bone marrow. The bone marrow (BM) stem cell niche is immune-privileged. Additionally, BM stem cells exhibit age-specific mobilization to specific tissues such as lungs and have the potential to expand in oxidative stress as well as hypoxia. Thus, these stem cells and their niches may be an attractive site for pathogenic microbe and cancer stem cells for long-term dormancy and reactivation or relapse. There is a growing interest to develop in vitro, in vivo, and genetics models to study the interaction between stem cells, their niche, microbes, and/or cancer stem cells. The interaction between stem cells and microbes or cancer stem cells and non-cancer stem cells may alter immune response that leads to the progression of infectious diseases and cancer.
Many novel insights into infectious disease have been made by studying stem cell and infectious disease interaction such as HIV/stem cell host/pathogen interaction, M. tuberculosis/stem cell interaction, HPV-16/epithelial stem cell interaction, and helicobacter pylori/stem cell interaction. Certain microbes exploit the relationship with stem cells; transform their niches to gain an extreme degree of self-renewal potentials and subsequent malignant properties, thus contributing to cancer progression. This research topic explores the biology of stem cell-pathogen, stem cell-cancer stem cell, stem cell-pathogen-cancer stem cell interactions, and how these relationships mend host-processes at the cellular and molecular levels. The molecular pathways of the interaction between the stem cells, microbes and/or cancer cells could be the attractive target to manage infectious diseases, as well as cancer. The goal of the Research Topic is to review and identify the current advances as well as limitations in investigating the molecular pathways by which microbes and cancer stem cells exploit their resident stem cell niches and contribute to the initiation, development and/or progression and relapse of the disease.
In this Research Topic, we welcome the submission of Original Research, Review, Mini Review, and Hypothesis and Theory articles focused, but not limited to, the following topics:
• Pathogen induced immunomodulatory activities in stem cell niche for pathogen favoring microenvironment
• Interaction between cancer stem cell and non-cancer stem cell in stem cell niche leading tumor dormancy and relapse
• Organ-specific in vitro and in vivo model of stem cell to study the interaction between stem cell and pathogen in stem cell niche.
• Evolution of pathogens in stem cell niches and contribution to malignancy.
• Using single-cell transcriptomics to study stem cell-pathogens biology
• Pathogens- stem cell niche architecture in different mouse model/organoid models
• Cancer stem cell interaction with the stem cell niche in different mouse model/ organoid models
Many novel insights into infectious disease have been made by studying stem cell and infectious disease interaction such as HIV/stem cell host/pathogen interaction, M. tuberculosis/stem cell interaction, HPV-16/epithelial stem cell interaction, and helicobacter pylori/stem cell interaction. Certain microbes exploit the relationship with stem cells; transform their niches to gain an extreme degree of self-renewal potentials and subsequent malignant properties, thus contributing to cancer progression. This research topic explores the biology of stem cell-pathogen, stem cell-cancer stem cell, stem cell-pathogen-cancer stem cell interactions, and how these relationships mend host-processes at the cellular and molecular levels. The molecular pathways of the interaction between the stem cells, microbes and/or cancer cells could be the attractive target to manage infectious diseases, as well as cancer. The goal of the Research Topic is to review and identify the current advances as well as limitations in investigating the molecular pathways by which microbes and cancer stem cells exploit their resident stem cell niches and contribute to the initiation, development and/or progression and relapse of the disease.
In this Research Topic, we welcome the submission of Original Research, Review, Mini Review, and Hypothesis and Theory articles focused, but not limited to, the following topics:
• Pathogen induced immunomodulatory activities in stem cell niche for pathogen favoring microenvironment
• Interaction between cancer stem cell and non-cancer stem cell in stem cell niche leading tumor dormancy and relapse
• Organ-specific in vitro and in vivo model of stem cell to study the interaction between stem cell and pathogen in stem cell niche.
• Evolution of pathogens in stem cell niches and contribution to malignancy.
• Using single-cell transcriptomics to study stem cell-pathogens biology
• Pathogens- stem cell niche architecture in different mouse model/organoid models
• Cancer stem cell interaction with the stem cell niche in different mouse model/ organoid models
Keywords: Stem cell niche, dormancy and reactivation or relapse, cancer stem cell, host-pathogen interaction, immunomodulation, self-renewing
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.
