Cell death, clearance, and immune regulation in health and disease

Cell death is a fundamental biological process that shapes tissue development, immune defense, and the maintenance of homeostasis. Different forms of regulated cell death—including apoptosis, ferroptosis, pyroptosis, necroptosis, and other emerging pathways—can produce distinct inflammatory or immunoregulatory outcomes. These effects are determined not only by the mechanism of death itself, but also by the release or exposure of danger-associated signals and the subsequent recognition and clearance of dying cells by phagocytes. Efficient removal of cellular debris can promote inflammation resolution, tissue repair, and immune tolerance, whereas impaired or dysregulated clearance may sustain inflammation, enhance autoimmunity, disrupt tissue regeneration, or create an immunosuppressive environment that favors tumor progression.This Research Topic aims to bring together studies examining how cell death and the handling of dying cells shape innate and adaptive immune responses in health and disease. A central goal is to move beyond viewing cell death as an isolated endpoint and instead consider it as part of a dynamic process involving cellular stress, death execution, release or exposure of immunological signals, phagocyte recognition, cargo processing, and downstream immune regulation.We particularly welcome work addressing how different cell death programs generate distinct immune consequences and how immune cells discriminate among dying cells, cellular debris, pathogens, and damaged tissue. Studies investigating the molecular and metabolic responses of macrophages, dendritic cells, neutrophils, and other phagocytes following engulfment are also encouraged. By integrating mechanistic, translational, and systems-level studies, this collection seeks to identify pathways that may be therapeutically targeted to enhance protective immunity, restore tissue homeostasis, improve inflammation resolution, or overcome immune suppression.Relevant themes include, but are not limited to: • Molecular mechanisms and immune consequences of apoptosis, ferroptosis, pyroptosis, necroptosis, PANoptosis, immunogenic cell death, and other regulated cell death pathways • Recognition, engulfment, and processing of dying cells, cellular debris, or pathogens by professional and non-professional phagocytes • Efferocytosis, general phagocytosis, phagosome maturation, and lysosomal processing • Danger-associated molecular patterns, “find-me” and “eat-me” signals, immune checkpoints, and cell-death-associated signaling • Cell death and clearance in infection, cancer, autoimmune disease, chronic inflammation, fibrosis, tissue injury, regeneration, and aging • Metabolic and transcriptional reprogramming of phagocytes following cargo uptake • Therapeutic strategies that modulate cell death, clearance, or downstream immune responses • Single-cell, spatial, imaging, and computational approaches for studying cell death and clearance in tissuesWe welcome Original Research articles, Brief Research Reports, Reviews, Mini Reviews, Perspectives, Methods articles, and other contributions that advance mechanistic or translational understanding of this field. Note on scope: Manuscripts focused on specific forms of cell death or their underlying mechanisms with no immunological focus (death using immune cells lines but not addressing immunological mechanisms, role of phagocytes in clearing dying cells, etc) fall outside the scope of Frontiers in Immunology unless they address a clear immunological aspect Topic editors: Xin Li, Philippe Saas, Robin Demuynck Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/84597/cell-death-clearance-and-immune-regulation-in-health-and-disease