Mucosal defense mechanisms against bacterial respiratory infections

Bacterial respiratory infections are among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Pathogens such as Streptococcus pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, Haemophilus influenzae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Streptococcus pyogenes continue to cause substantial disease burden, particularly in children, older adults, immunocompromised individuals, and patients with chronic lung disorders. The increasing prevalence of antimicrobial resistance further exacerbates this problem and highlights the urgent need for improved preventive and therapeutic strategies.The respiratory mucosa, with its highly specialized epithelial structures, immune cells, antimicrobial peptides, secretory antibodies, and mechanisms of clearance and tissue repair, represents the first line of host defense against inhaled bacterial pathogens. Dysregulated mucosal immunity contributes to susceptibility to bacterial infection and to chronic inflammatory lung diseases. The interactions between hosts and pathogens remain poorly defined.This Research Topic aims to provide a multidisciplinary platform for advancing our understanding of mucosal defense mechanisms against bacterial respiratory infections. It will help us understand how mucosal immunity can be enhanced while limiting excessive inflammation, for the development of next-generation vaccines, immunotherapies, and host-directed antimicrobial strategies. By integrating concepts across immunology, microbiology, pulmonary biology, and translational medicine, this Research Topic aims to identify new pathways and therapeutic targets that can improve mucosal protection against bacterial respiratory pathogens and reduce the global burden of respiratory infectious disease.We welcome articles in the following themes:• Innate immune defense mechanisms against bacterial respiratory pathogens • Epithelial barrier function and epithelial–bacterial interactions • Antimicrobial peptides and mucosal defense molecules • Host–pathogen interactions in bacterial colonization and invasion • Mechanisms regulating bacterial persistence, biofilm formation, quorum sensing • Respiratory microbiome and host–microbiota interactions • Cytokine networks and inflammatory regulation in bacterial respiratory disease • Antimicrobial resistance and host-directed therapeutic approaches • Interactions between viral and bacterial co-infections in the respiratory tract • Mucin alterations in airway infectionsThis Research Topic accepts submissions in the following formats: Brief Research Report, Case Report, Classification, Clinical Trial, Editorial, FAIR² Data, General Commentary, Hypothesis and Theory, Methods, Mini Review, Opinion, Original Research, Perspective, Review, Study Protocol, Systematic Review, and Technology and Code. All published articles will undergo rigorous external peer review and may be subject to publication fees.Please note that manuscripts consisting solely of bioinformatics or computational analysis of public genomic or transcriptomic databases which are not accompanied by robust and relevant validation (clinical cohort or biological validation in vitro or in vivo) are out of scope for this Research Topic. Manuscripts focusing solely on cost-effectiveness studies are also not considered for publication in this journal.Manuscripts not dealing with mucosal immunity, for example on antibiotic resistance or antibacterial drugs, are out of scope for Frontiers in Immunology.Topic Editor Dr. Christian Pasquali is working on the protective mechanisms induced by 2 marketed bacterial-based products (OM-85 and OM-89) used for the prevention of rRTIs and rUTIs from bacterial/viral and bacterial origins respectively. Topic editors: Médea Padra, Gee W Lau, Christian Pasquali, Yuyao Yin Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/83854/mucosal-defense-mechanisms-against-bacterial-respiratory-infections