Single-cell analysis on the pathophysiology of autoimmune diseases

Despite increasing research to facilitate the understanding of the pathophysiology of autoimmune disorders, the exact cause of the incident of autoimmunity is unknown. Current concepts on the occurrence of autoimmune diseases are thought to involve autoantigens, genetic predisposition, disease triggers, and the breakdown of immune tolerance. In addition to the breakdown of immunological tolerance, one key characteristic of autoimmune disease is that within a single disease there is considerable variability in the clinical manifestation and severity in patients. Single-cell omics have emerged as an effective means of unraveling the complexity and heterogeneity of chronic disease development and therapeutic responses. Recently, advances in cutting-edge spatial profiling of diverse cell types have increased our understanding of how distinct cells interact and orchestrate at specific locations across a tissue landscape in both physiological and pathological contexts at the single-cell level.

This Research Topic intends to provide a forum for new research findings and reviews of single-cell approaches to address the molecular mechanisms in the pathophysiology of autoimmune diseases. By coordinating research through this collection, we anticipate this will greatly facilitate the resolution of the complexity of the pathophysiology of autoimmune diseases and allow the integration of shared and distinguishing features of autoimmune diseases to provide a conceptual framework to accelerate the development and application of novel therapeutic agents.

We invite basic, translational, and clinical scientists from all specialties involved in the research of single-cell omics and spatial multi-omics to contribute their findings to our themed issue on autoimmune diseases. We welcome the submission of original research, clinical trial, mini review, review, and systematic review articles that cover, but are not limited to, the following sub-topics:
• New paradigms or mechanisms of autoimmunity
• Emergence of autoreactive cells and development of autoimmune diseases
• Endogenous or exogenous factors that contribute to the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases
• Genetic predisposition to autoimmune diseases
• Heterogeneity of autoimmune diseases at various stages
• Drug resistance or precision therapy for the treatment of autoimmune diseases