About this Research Topic
Autoimmune diseases are a major clinical burden, affecting 6-8% of the population. Importantly, targeted treatment is currently not possible, often requiring life-long immunosuppression. While treatment is only applied upon clinical disease manifestation, autoimmune diseases develop over years - starting from the loss of tolerance towards self (autoimmunity), which, upon so far unknown trigger factors, may progress to clinically overt autoimmune disease. Unlike in cancer, for which screening for and treatment of pre-disease prevents disease progression, screening for autoimmune pre-disease is far from clinically routine due to the lack of definitive biomarkers. However, if sensitive and specific biomarkers for future potential autoimmune diseases could be identified, the clinical manifestations of the disease might be prevented by avoiding environmental factors that trigger disease or by the use of therapies that modulate the destructive process before the onset of clinical symptoms.
The Research Topic “Autoimmune Pre-Disease” aims to review and collect evidence on two major themes: (1) Defining and (2) targeting autoimmune pre-disease. Defining autoimmune pre-disease will focus on biomarkers that would allow us to predict further disease progression, as well as factors driving either the formation of autoantibodies or clinical disease manifestation. Targeting autoimmune pre-disease includes pharmacological and non-pharmacological (i.e., diet, environment) interventions that modulate the transition from health to autoantibody formation and/or from clinically inapparent autoimmunity to clinical disease manifestation.
The Research Topic “Autoimmune Pre-Disease” welcomes all topics covering autoimmune diseases with a special focus on early disease pathogenesis. We welcome all types of manuscripts, including Case Reports, Original Research and (Mini) Reviews. Articles can be focused on, but not limited to:
• Factors involved in the formation of autoantibodies and/or autoreactive T cells
• Mechanisms leading to clinical disease manifestation
• Organ-specific autoimmune diseases (i.e., pemphigus, or diabetes)
• Non-organ-specific autoimmune diseases (i.e. rheumatic diseases)
• Diseases in which autoimmunity may contribute to pathogenesis (i.e., psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, inflammatory bowel disease)
The Research Topic “Autoimmune Pre-Disease” aims to review and collect evidence on two major themes: (1) Defining and (2) targeting autoimmune pre-disease. Defining autoimmune pre-disease will focus on biomarkers that would allow us to predict further disease progression, as well as factors driving either the formation of autoantibodies or clinical disease manifestation. Targeting autoimmune pre-disease includes pharmacological and non-pharmacological (i.e., diet, environment) interventions that modulate the transition from health to autoantibody formation and/or from clinically inapparent autoimmunity to clinical disease manifestation.
The Research Topic “Autoimmune Pre-Disease” welcomes all topics covering autoimmune diseases with a special focus on early disease pathogenesis. We welcome all types of manuscripts, including Case Reports, Original Research and (Mini) Reviews. Articles can be focused on, but not limited to:
• Factors involved in the formation of autoantibodies and/or autoreactive T cells
• Mechanisms leading to clinical disease manifestation
• Organ-specific autoimmune diseases (i.e., pemphigus, or diabetes)
• Non-organ-specific autoimmune diseases (i.e. rheumatic diseases)
• Diseases in which autoimmunity may contribute to pathogenesis (i.e., psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, inflammatory bowel disease)
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.
