Breaching the Mucosal Barrier: Microbial Translocation and Immune Dysregulation in Local and Systemic Disease

Mucosal surfaces in the gut, lung, and oral cavity are the body’s primary interfaces with the microbial world, and their integrity is what keeps local microbial communities from becoming a systemic problem. When this barrier is breached, through infection, dysbiosis, or chronic inflammation, microbes, their metabolites, and immune signals can translocate beyond their home site, driving disease not only locally but in distant organs and tissues.This Research Topic focuses on the mechanisms and consequences of mucosal barrier breakdown and microbial translocation. We welcome Original Research, Reviews, Mini-Reviews, Perspectives, etc. that examine how breaches in gut, lung, or oral mucosal barriers trigger local inflammation and downstream systemic effects, with an emphasis on mechanistic insight rather than purely descriptive microbiome profiling.Themes of interest include:1. Mechanisms of barrier breakdown: how pathobionts, dysbiosis, or infection compromise mucosal integrity and enable microbial or metabolite translocation.2. From translocation to systemic disease: how translocated microbes, metabolites, or immune mediators contribute to conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease, chronic pulmonary disease, or systemic inflammatory states.3. Inter-organ signaling: gut–lung and gut–oral crosstalk mediated by shared microbial metabolites, circulating immune cells, or cytokine signaling.4. Translational angles: biomarkers of barrier dysfunction and translocation, and microbiome- or metabolite-based strategies to restore barrier integrity.We particularly encourage submissions that connect a specific mechanism of barrier disruption to a measurable systemic outcome, rather than broad surveys spanning multiple unrelated anatomical sites. Topic editors: JIALING BAO, Dongyin Guan, Jianping Xie Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/84054/breaching-the-mucosal-barrier-microbial-translocation-and-immune-dysregulation-in-local-and-systemic-disease