The Role of the Environment in Autoimmunity

  • 38k

    Total downloads

  • 167k

    Total views and downloads

Download PDFDownload EPUB

About this Research Topic

Submission closed

Background

The immune system has evolved to directly destroy pathogens and host cells which have been infected with pathogens. More recently, it has become abundantly clear that the immune system can also target and destroy cancer cells. While the immune system is necessary to protect us, it must be strictly controlled so as to restrict collateral damage to non-infected normal cells and tissues. Accordingly, immune effector mechanisms including those involved in inflammatory responses, have co-evolved with an elaborate collection of multiple redundant checkpoints at different levels, collectively referred to as tolerance. These measures prevent or limit damage to healthy tissues and cells. Failure of these tolerogenic mechanisms leads to the development of autoimmune disease.

Autoimmune diseases can be organ-specific, systemic, or a combination of both. Individual autoimmune diseases are routinely clinically differentiated and classified according to the specificity and/or breadth of organ systems attacked. Much progress has been made over the last 50 years in elucidating the molecular and genetic underpinnings of specific checkpoint defects involved in many autoimmune diseases, often leading to the clinical use of small molecules and biologics to control autoimmune responses and to limit the deleterious outcomes for those who suffer from autoimmune diseases. Nevertheless, at this time it is impossible to say that we completely understand the etiology of any autoimmune disease, and in most instances, clinical interventions focus on alleviating symptoms, rather than providing cures.

One problem may be that naturally occurring autoimmune diseases likely represent a simultaneous failure of multiple checkpoints. Clinical interventions restoring function to one checkpoint may ignore others, or even inadvertently, decrease their functionality. In this sense, autoimmune diseases are seen to be multi-factorial. However, autoimmune diseases are also multi-factorial in a broader sense. Epidemiological studies have clearly shown that in addition to genetic factors, the development of autoimmune diseases depends critically upon environmental factors, including but not limited to, (i) the microbiome; (ii) viruses; (iii) diet; (iv) lifestyle, and (v) toxicants in the air, water and food. Presumably environmental factors influence multiple immune system checkpoints within the context of an individual’s unique genetics to trigger initiation and/or flaring, as well as to promote the progression of autoimmunity. Unfortunately, while our knowledge of the genetics underlying many autoimmune diseases has rapidly advanced, research directed towards elucidating how exposure to environmental factors during our lifetime interact with these genetic aspects has lagged. Consequently, our understanding of autoimmune diseases is far from complete.

The aim of this Research Topic is to begin to remedy this imbalance by highlighting some of what we do know about environmental influences on autoimmune disease, and pointing the way to what needs to be done in the future. In this Research Topic, we welcome the submission of Original Research, Reviews, Mini-Reviews, Perspective, Opinion, Methods and Protocols that cover, but are not necessarily limited to the following topics:

1. Mechanisms by which environmental factors disrupt the immune system so as to initiate or exacerbate autoimmunity and autoimmune disease
2. The functional consequence of the timing of exposure in disease formation, including characterization of critical windows in the timing of specific environmental exposures - such as during the fetal, perinatal, prepubertal, pubertal, adult and aged periods – in relation to the sensitivity to the development of autoimmune disease
3. Functional consequences of environmentally-induced epigenetic changes in the development of autoimmunity
4. The interplay between environmental exposures and the hormonal milieu in mediating sex differences in the incidence of autoimmune disease
5. The role of the microbiome in autoimmunity
6. The role of diet in autoimmunity
7. Disease markers (biomarkers) of environmentally-induced autoimmunity
8. Identification of susceptibility factors to environmentally-influenced autoimmune disease
9. Epidemiological evidence connecting environmental influences with autoimmune disease

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

  • 167kTopic views
  • 126kArticle views
  • 38kArticle downloads
View impact