Endogenous Danger Signals in Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy

  • 8,158

    Total downloads

  • 22k

    Total views and downloads

Submit your idea

Select the journal/section where you want your idea to be submitted:

Submit your manuscript summarySubmit your manuscript

About this Research Topic

Submission closed

Background

Endogenous danger signals are molecules that are normally present in given cell compartments that are rapidly released following cell stress, damage, or non-physiologic cell death and induce immune responses. Cancer cells undergoing immunogenic cell death, which is hallmarked by the emission of various endogenous danger signals also known as damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs), especially alarmins, is an emerging determinant of cancer immunotherapy. Endogenous danger signals identified so far include several defensins, cathelicidins, eosinophil-associated ribonucleases, high-mobility group (HMG) proteins, heat shock proteins (HSPs), saposin-like granulysin, ion-binding proteins (e.g., S100 proteins and lactoferrin), nucleotides/metabolites (e.g., ATP and uric acid) and certain IL-1 cytokine family members (e.g., IL-1α and IL-33). These endogenous danger signals are important bridges between innate immunity and adaptive immunity and play a critical role in cancer immunology and immunotherapy.

Dendritic cells (DCs) are potent antigen-presenting cells critical in regulating adaptive immunity. Endogenous danger signals can activate immune cells, especially DCs, to stimulate immune response. Various endogenous danger signals appear to have distinct effects on the types of antigen-specific immune responses. Neutrophil-derived α-defensins have been demonstrated to induce both Th1 and Th2 immune responses upon administration together with an antigen via a mucosal route, whereas HMGN1 and β-defensins stimulate predominantly Th1 responses upon gene gun delivery to mouse epidermis as an adjuvant–antigen fusion product. In contrast, eosinophil-derived neurotoxin, a member of the eosinophil-associated ribonuclease, IL-33, and uric acid preferentially promote the development of Th2 immune responses. However, with the deepening research on endogenous danger signals, their multifaceted role in cancer immunity has gradually been revealed. For instance, earlier studies showed that HMGB1 and HSPs promote Th1 immune responses involved in protective antitumor immunity. However, follow-up studies suggested that HMGB1 only has a protective role in cancer immunity during the early stage of disease, while sustained HMGB1 recruits immunosuppressive myeloid-derived suppressor cells and regulatory T cells during cancer progression and thus also involves in maintaining immunosuppression. Therefore, the role of endogenous danger signals in cancer immunology and immunotherapy is very complex and deserves further in-depth study.

In the Research Topic “Endogenous Danger Signals in Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy”, we would like to create an online forum for researchers to facilitate the studies on endogenous danger signals (DAMPs, including alarmins). We welcome original research articles and reviews that address the following themes:

1. Identification of additional endogenous danger signals involved in cancer immunity.

2. Mechanisms underlying the role of endogenous danger signals in cancer immunity.

3. Testing the potential use of endogenous danger signals, as adjuvants, immune stimulators, or even as therapeutic targets, for experimental cancer immunotherapy.

4. Clinical trials evaluating the efficacy of endogenous danger signal-based therapies.

Manuscripts consisting solely of bioinformatics or computational analysis of public genomic or transcriptomic databases which are not accompanied by robust and relevant validation (clinical cohort or biological validation in vitro or in vivo) are out of scope for this topic.

Keywords: Endogenous Danger Signals, DAMP, Alarmin, Cancer immunity, Immunotherapy

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.

     

Participating Journals

Impact

  • 22kTopic views
  • 13kArticle views
  • 8,158Article downloads
View impact