Both innate and adaptive immune responses are necessary for infections and tumor control. Several aspects of immunity have been shown to be defective during persistent chronic infection and tumor development. Correct regulation of intracellular metabolic pathways is strategic to developing efficient anti-viral and anti-tumor immune responses. Understanding the main features of the deregulated metabolic processes related to hosting immunity will be fundamental in the perspective of possible new immunomodulatory approaches.
Increasing literature points towards a significant role of immune cells’ epigenetic alterations in relation to the outcomes of infectious and cancer diseases. Indeed, infection persistence and tumor development can result in epigenetic changes to immune cells causing impairment of host cellular and immune defenses. Human chromatin modifications regulate tissue-specific gene expression patterns that respond to various stimuli. These dynamic epigenetic variations and alterations have been shown in both innate and adaptive immunity during cancer progression and chronic infections.
In addition, in different models of tumors and persistent infections (such as HBV, HCV, HIV and COVID-19) a close relationship between metabolism and epigenetic regulation has been highlighted as a feature of immune dysfunction, although the molecular mechanisms underneath both aspects are not completely understood. Pharmacological interventions into the metabolic and epigenetic machinery are emerging as new therapeutics to treat immune-related diseases. The emerging roles of epigenetics in controlling innate and adaptive immunity add another layer of complexity in the regulation of immune responses.
Thanks to the advance in immune-based cancer and anti-viral therapy in the clinic, monitoring the patients’ immune status has been increasingly recognized as a critical prognostic parameter. Prospective clinical and pre-clinical studies are now expected to document immune parameters with the goal to provide immune monitoring innovative strategies for researchers and clinicians.
This Research Topic aims at providing contributions covering different aspects related to epigenetics, metabolism, and putative novel biomarkers involved in the host and pathogen interactions and at helping to drive forward the understanding of the immunology, pathogenesis, and possible clinical intervention and monitoring of infectious and cancer diseases.
We welcome Original Research Articles, Reviews, Methods, Case Reports, and Perspectives that apply modern technical approaches to study the role of epigenetics and metabolism in the pathogenesis of infections and tumor progression for new potential immune therapies. Moreover, this collection will also host insights on novel immunological parameters to monitor and predict the disease outcome, in order to guide clinical practice in the application of innovative therapies for the most responsive patients.
We especially aim to cover, but are not limited to, the following sub-topics:
• Advanced omics tools for genome-wide and targeted analysis to detect pathogen-induced epigenetic modulations in the human immune system.
• Identification of epigenetic and metabolic immune markers associated with infectious and cancer disease outcomes including occurrence and progression.
• Single-cell epigenome and transcriptome analysis, and other approaches to map cellular networks driving susceptibility to cancer and infectious diseases.
• Single-cell metabolomics for identification of new defective pathways for both metabolic checkpoints targeting and as biomarkers for diagnosis or immune monitoring in infectious and cancer diseases.
• Targeting epigenetic machinery and metabolic signaling pathway for the development of potential new immune-modulatory drugs.
• Immune profiling and predictive biomarkers assays in cancer or chronic infections patients undergoing immuno-modulatory treatments
• Epigenetic and metabolic profiling of rare immune cell populations in cancer patients and patients with persistent infections
Manuscripts consisting solely of bioinformatics or computational analysis of public genomic or transcriptomic databases which are not accompanied by validation (clinical cohort or biological validation in vitro or in vivo) are out of scope for this section
Both innate and adaptive immune responses are necessary for infections and tumor control. Several aspects of immunity have been shown to be defective during persistent chronic infection and tumor development. Correct regulation of intracellular metabolic pathways is strategic to developing efficient anti-viral and anti-tumor immune responses. Understanding the main features of the deregulated metabolic processes related to hosting immunity will be fundamental in the perspective of possible new immunomodulatory approaches.
Increasing literature points towards a significant role of immune cells’ epigenetic alterations in relation to the outcomes of infectious and cancer diseases. Indeed, infection persistence and tumor development can result in epigenetic changes to immune cells causing impairment of host cellular and immune defenses. Human chromatin modifications regulate tissue-specific gene expression patterns that respond to various stimuli. These dynamic epigenetic variations and alterations have been shown in both innate and adaptive immunity during cancer progression and chronic infections.
In addition, in different models of tumors and persistent infections (such as HBV, HCV, HIV and COVID-19) a close relationship between metabolism and epigenetic regulation has been highlighted as a feature of immune dysfunction, although the molecular mechanisms underneath both aspects are not completely understood. Pharmacological interventions into the metabolic and epigenetic machinery are emerging as new therapeutics to treat immune-related diseases. The emerging roles of epigenetics in controlling innate and adaptive immunity add another layer of complexity in the regulation of immune responses.
Thanks to the advance in immune-based cancer and anti-viral therapy in the clinic, monitoring the patients’ immune status has been increasingly recognized as a critical prognostic parameter. Prospective clinical and pre-clinical studies are now expected to document immune parameters with the goal to provide immune monitoring innovative strategies for researchers and clinicians.
This Research Topic aims at providing contributions covering different aspects related to epigenetics, metabolism, and putative novel biomarkers involved in the host and pathogen interactions and at helping to drive forward the understanding of the immunology, pathogenesis, and possible clinical intervention and monitoring of infectious and cancer diseases.
We welcome Original Research Articles, Reviews, Methods, Case Reports, and Perspectives that apply modern technical approaches to study the role of epigenetics and metabolism in the pathogenesis of infections and tumor progression for new potential immune therapies. Moreover, this collection will also host insights on novel immunological parameters to monitor and predict the disease outcome, in order to guide clinical practice in the application of innovative therapies for the most responsive patients.
We especially aim to cover, but are not limited to, the following sub-topics:
• Advanced omics tools for genome-wide and targeted analysis to detect pathogen-induced epigenetic modulations in the human immune system.
• Identification of epigenetic and metabolic immune markers associated with infectious and cancer disease outcomes including occurrence and progression.
• Single-cell epigenome and transcriptome analysis, and other approaches to map cellular networks driving susceptibility to cancer and infectious diseases.
• Single-cell metabolomics for identification of new defective pathways for both metabolic checkpoints targeting and as biomarkers for diagnosis or immune monitoring in infectious and cancer diseases.
• Targeting epigenetic machinery and metabolic signaling pathway for the development of potential new immune-modulatory drugs.
• Immune profiling and predictive biomarkers assays in cancer or chronic infections patients undergoing immuno-modulatory treatments
• Epigenetic and metabolic profiling of rare immune cell populations in cancer patients and patients with persistent infections
Manuscripts consisting solely of bioinformatics or computational analysis of public genomic or transcriptomic databases which are not accompanied by validation (clinical cohort or biological validation in vitro or in vivo) are out of scope for this section
