Host–Pathogen Interactions in Bacterial, Viral and Protozoan Infections: From Molecular Mechanisms to Zoonotic Transmission and Control

Bacteria, viruses and protozoan parasites differ markedly in their biology and infection strategies, yet they often converge on common host processes. These include innate and adaptive immunity, mucosal defense, cellular metabolism, barrier integrity, inflammatory signaling and tissue remodeling. Many of these pathogens are zoonotic. Zoonoses account for about 60% of human diseases and 75% of emerging infectious diseases. Understanding both conserved and pathogen-specific host responses, and how pathogens emerge, evolve and spread across species, is essential for elucidating pathogenesis and improving infection control.Host–pathogen research has shifted from description toward mechanism. Infection can reprogram mitochondrial function, glycolysis, and lipid and amino acid metabolism, and these states shape immune activation, tissue repair and pathogen persistence. Resident microbiota and microbial metabolites add an ecological layer at mucosal surfaces. Single-cell, spatial, metagenomic, metabolomic, epigenomic and multi-omics approaches, together with computational methods and AI, are transforming infection biology. Yet these infections are still often studied in separate disciplinary frameworks, and gaps remain in neglected zoonotic diseases, in vector and reservoir ecology, and in transmission dynamics.This Research Topic offers an interdisciplinary platform for studies of the molecular, immune, metabolic, ecological and systems-level mechanisms underlying bacterial, viral and protozoan infections, with particular attention to zoonotic and neglected diseases. We welcome mechanistic studies, and also molecular epidemiology, pathogen genotyping and ecological studies that clarify host–vector–pathogen interactions and transmission. The Topic promotes integrating microbiology, immunology, metabolism, microbiome research, veterinary medicine, One Health, multi-omics and computational approaches.We welcome studies on:• Molecular and cellular mechanisms of bacterial, viral and protozoan host–pathogen interactions, including in zoonotic infections• Innate, adaptive and mucosal immune responses during infection• Host immunometabolic reprogramming and metabolic control of infection outcomes• Microbiota–metabolite–immune interactions in infectious diseases• Viral immune evasion and host antiviral defense mechanisms• Prevalence, host specificity, vector and reservoir ecology, and transmission dynamics of zoonotic pathogens• Pathogen evolution and genotypic diversity, tracked through genomic, transcriptomic and proteomic methods• Antimicrobial resistance and phage interactions in host–pathogen systems• Single-cell, spatial and integrated multi-omics approaches to infection biology• Computational and AI-assisted discovery of biomarkers, mechanisms and therapeutic targets• Prevention and control strategies informed by host–pathogen and One Health insights Topic editors: Lei Deng, Md. Shahiduzzaman, HONG PENG Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/79604/host-pathogen-interactions-in-bacterial-viral-and-protozoan-infections-from-molecular-mechanisms-to-zoonotic-transmission-and-control