This Research Topic is the second volume of the “Regulation of the Host Immune Activation in Respiratory Virus Infections” Community Series. Please see Volume I here.

Respiratory viruses cause serious emerging infectious diseases. Not only the catastrophic novel influenza viruses, SARS, MERS, or COVID-19, but seasonal influenza viruses periodically lead to significant morbidity and mortality. The host immune system reacts to an infection in order to eradicate the pathogen. However, dysregulated and/or an overwhelming immune responses have been postulated as the major causes of serious illness and death. “Cytokine storm” has been found to occur in SARS, severe influenza, and COVID-19. Important disease mechanisms in COVID-19, such as ADE (Antibody-Dependent Enhancement) or HITT (Heparin Induced Thrombocytopenic Thrombosis), are also the result of dysregulated immune reactions. The role of T cells and the adaptive immune system are known to be important but the exact mechanisms have yet to be elucidated.

Efforts to suppress overwhelming immune reactions with broad-spectrum immunosuppressive agents have so far had unsatisfactory results in general. These agents mostly impair virus clearing immunity, with the suppression of inflammation, and in many instances, can actually aggravate the disease. Mechanistic dissection of the host immune activation and regulation of activation in severe respiratory virus infections would allow us to improve and tailor therapeutics.

In this Research Topic, we welcome Original Research, Review/Mini Review, Clinical Trial and shorter Perspective articles that explore, but are not limited to:

• Regulation of host adaptive immune activation in respiratory virus infections
• Humans and animal models
• Reports of the role of T cells in immune modulation in severe respiratory virus infection

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Frontiers in Immunology

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