Fungi as modulators of host immunity

The immune system operates at the interface between the host and a complex, dynamic environment that includes diverse microbial communities and environmental exposures. While bacteria have dominated infectious disease and microbiome research, it is increasingly clear that fungi, together with other microbial kingdoms and environmental factors, play critical and underappreciated roles in shaping immune development, function, and disease susceptibility.This Research Topic aims to highlight emerging insights into how fungi, in any context, such as within the environment, or microbiome, for example, regulate immunity across tissues and throughout life. We seek to bring together work spanning eco-immunology, microbial ecology, mucosal immunology, and host-microbe interactions, with a particular focus on how these interactions influence immune homeostasis, inflammation, and disease.Key themes include, but are not limited to:- Fungal–bacterial–viral interactions and cross-kingdom communication- The role of the mycobiome in immune development and regulation- Environmental drivers of immune responses, including airborne, dietary, and built-environment exposures- Tissue-specific immunity at barrier sites (e.g. lung, gut, skin)- Immune sensing of fungi and environmental microbes- Chronic exposure, colonisation, and immune reprogramming- Implications for inflammatory, infectious, allergic, and autoimmune diseases- Translational and clinical perspectives, including diagnostics and therapeutic targetingBy integrating fundamental, translational, and clinical research, this collection aims to move beyond single-organism or acute-infection models and provide a holistic framework for understanding how environmental and microbial complexity shapes immune function. We welcome original research articles, reviews, mini-reviews, perspectives, and methods papers that advance conceptual, mechanistic, or translational understanding in this rapidly evolving field. Topic editors: Fabian Salazar, Jop Jans, Mariano Malamud, Giorgia Renga Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/78460/fungi-as-modulators-of-host-immunity