Viral Escape of Mucosal Immunity in Sexually Transmitted Diseases

  • 5,684

    Total downloads

  • 22k

    Total views and downloads

Submit your idea

You will be redirected to our submission process.

Submit your manuscript summarySubmit your manuscript

About this Research Topic

Submission closed

Background

Mucosae of the female and male genital tracts are the portals of entry for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) of viral, bacterial, fungal, and parasitic origin; 2.6 million cases of STDs are reported annually. The viruses implicated in sexually transmitted infections (STIs) include HSV, HIV, viral hepatitis, EBV, CMV, molluscum contagiosum, HHV-8, and HPVs. The emerging Monkeypox Virus has been recently isolated in semen as well. This route has the most rapidly rising incidence of new infections, especially among women, who are infected at higher rates than men. Thus, induction of innate and adaptive immune responses at the major portals of entry of these pathogens is important for protection against infection. However, during their co-evolution with the host, viruses have evolved strategies to counteract the immune control, promoting their survival and/or persistence. Past and ongoing attempts to create vaccines against sexually transmitted pathogens have met with varying success.

The mucosal surfaces are particularly vulnerable to infections but display a complex spectrum of innate and adaptive mechanisms to counteract pathogens. In turn, viruses have evolved to modulate the host’s immunity, resulting in successful infection. Host factors influence whether virus exposure leads to productive infection. These may include the physical barrier of the mucosa, the number of available target cells, altered mucosal microbiota, humoral response, and immune activation by genital inflammation established by other sexually transmitted infections. Also, genital fluids contain proteins that enhance viral infection, like semen-derived enhancers of virus infectivity (SEVI) and complement. The transmission risk is associated with the specific within-host barriers, which creates a selection bias with an advantage for viruses with higher between-host transmission potential. Important cells that exert opposing selection pressures are the different dendritic cell (DC) subsets localized in the mucosal tissues. A thorough understanding of how viruses engage in crosstalk with the host at these anatomic sites is still missing. The goal of this research topic is to shed light on the critical interactions of viruses with the genital mucosal immune system allowing the virus to escape from it, and ultimately complete its life cycle.

In this Research Topic, we aim at bringing together researchers from the immunological and virological fields to build up a wide and comprehensive landscape of the various aspects of mucosal immunity and viral escape mechanisms in the context of STDs. We welcome the submission of Review, Original Research, Perspective, Clinical Trial, and Case Report covering, but not limited to, the following sub-topics:

• Background and advances in the STDs research, focusing on local and/or systemic immune responses.
• Studies providing novel knowledge on immune responses in STDs with a special emphasis on local immune responses in the genital tract.
• The role of dendritic cells in eliciting the immune response and preventing viral escape.
• The strategies for prevention and control of STDs including novel therapeutics and vaccine development.

Keywords: STDs, Mucosae, Immune response, Viral escape, Vaccine, IgA, Dendritic cells

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.

Topic editors

Frequently asked questions

  • Frontiers' Research Topics are collaborative hubs built around an emerging theme.Defined, managed, and led by renowned researchers, they bring communities together around a shared area of interest to stimulate collaboration and innovation.

    Unlike section journals, which serve established specialty communities, Research Topics are pioneer hubs, responding to the evolving scientific landscape and catering to new communities.

  • The goal of Frontiers' publishing program is to empower research communities to actively steer the course of scientific publishing. Our program was implemented as a three-part unit with fixed field journals, flexible specialty sections, and dynamically emerging Research Topics, connecting communities of different sizes and maturity.

    Research Topics originate from the scientific community. Many of our Research Topics are suggested by existing editorial board members who have identified critical challenges or areas of interest in their field.

  • As an editor, Research Topics will help you build your journal, as well as your community, around emerging, cutting-edge research. As research trailblazers, Research Topics attract high-quality submissions from leading experts all over the world.

    A thriving Research Topic can potentially evolve into a new specialty section if there is sustained interest and a growing community around it.

  • Each Research Topic must be approved by the specialty chief editor, and it falls under the editorial oversight of our editorial boards, supported by our in-house research integrity team. The same standards and rigorous peer review processes apply to articles published as part of a Research Topic as for any other article we publish.

    In 2023, 80% of the Research Topics we published were edited or co-edited by our editorial board members, who are already familiar with their journal's scope, ethos, and publishing model. All other topics are guest edited by leaders in their field, each vetted and formally approved by the specialty chief editor.

  • Publishing your article within a Research Topic with other related articles increases its discoverability and visibility, which can lead to more views, downloads, and citations. Research Topics grow dynamically as more published articles are added, causing frequent revisiting, and further visibility.

    As Research Topics are multidisciplinary, they are cross-listed in several fields and section journals – increasing your reach even more and giving you the chance to expand your network and collaborate with researchers in different fields, all focusing on expanding knowledge around the same important topic.

    Our larger Research Topics are also converted into ebooks and receive social media promotion from our digital marketing team.

     

  • Frontiers offers multiple article types, but it will depend on the field and section journals in which the Research Topic will be featured. The available article types for a Research Topic will appear in the drop-down menu during the submission process.

    Check available article types here 

  • Yes, we would love to hear your ideas for a topic. Most of our Research Topics are community-led and suggested by researchers in the field. Our in-house editorial team will contact you to talk about your idea and whether you’d like to edit the topic. If you’re an early-stage researcher, we will offer you the opportunity to coordinate your topic, with the support of a senior researcher as the topic editor. 

    Suggest your topic here 

  • A team of guest editors (called topic editors) lead their Research Topic. This editorial team oversees the entire process, from the initial topic proposal to calls for participation, the peer review, and final publications.

    The team may also include topic coordinators, who help the topic editors send calls for participation, liaise with topic editors on abstracts, and support contributing authors. In some cases, they can also be assigned as reviewers.

  • As a topic editor (TE), you will take the lead on all editorial decisions for the Research Topic, starting with defining its scope. This allows you to curate research around a topic that interests you, bring together different perspectives from leading researchers across different fields and shape the future of your field. 

     

    You will choose your team of co-editors, curate a list of potential authors, send calls for participation and oversee the peer review process, accepting or recommending rejection for each manuscript submitted.

  • As a topic editor, you're supported at every stage by our in-house team. You will be assigned a single point of contact to help you on both editorial and technical matters. Your topic is managed through our user-friendly online platform, and the peer review process is supported by our industry-first AI review assistant (AIRA).

  • If you’re an early-stage researcher, we will offer you the opportunity to coordinate your topic, with the support of a senior researcher as the topic editor. This provides you with valuable editorial experience, improving your ability to critically evaluate research articles and enhancing your understanding of the quality standards and requirements for scientific publishing, as well as the opportunity to discover new research in your field, and expand your professional network.

  • Yes, certificates can be issued on request. We are happy to provide a certificate for your contribution to editing a successful Research Topic.

  • Research Topics thrive on collaboration and their multi-disciplinary approach around emerging, cutting-edge themes, attract leading researchers from all over the world.

  • As a topic editor, you can set the timeline for your Research Topic, and we will work with you at your pace. Typically, Research Topics are online and open for submissions within a few weeks and remain open for participation for 6 – 12 months. Individual articles within a Research Topic are published as soon as they are ready.

    Find out more about our Research Topics

  • Our fee support program ensures that all articles that pass peer review, including those published in Research Topics, can benefit from open access – regardless of the author's field or funding situation.

    Authors and institutions with insufficient funding can apply for a discount on their publishing fees. A fee support application form is available on our website.

  • In line with our mission to promote healthy lives on a healthy planet, we do not provide printed materials. All our articles and ebooks are available under a CC-BY license, so you can share and print copies.

     

Impact

  • 22kTopic views
  • 16kArticle views
  • 5,684Article downloads
View impact