Next-Generation Postbiotics: Therapeutic Applications in Infectious Diseases and Beyond

In recent years, the concept of postbiotics has gained substantial as an increase of microbiome-based therapies. In contrast to probiotics, postbiotics are defined as inanimate microbes and/or bioactive metabolites from those microbes which exert beneficial effects on the host. The composition of postbiotics comprises bioactive molecules including short chain fatty acids, peptides, extracellular vesicles, enzymes, cell-wall derived compounds and secondary metabolites. The rapid growth and advancements in microbiome research, metabolomics, and biotechnology have facilitated the identification and characterization of postbiotics with therapeutic potential. Recent studies advocate their plausible role in regulation of host immune responses, balancing the intestinal microbiome, inhibiting pathogen infection, and improving therapy efficacy. Yet, there is much that we do not know about the postbiotics field.Postbiotics, novel microbiome-derived therapeutic agents, have shown numerous advantages when compared to regular probiotics such as stability, safety, and formulation feasibility. Increasing scientific knowledge supports the immunomodulatory, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and metabolic regulatory potential of postbiotics make them attractive candidates for therapeutic applications both in humans and animals. In addition, the increase in antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and infections caused by biofilms has made the need for alternative treatment methods even more urgent. The focus of this Research Topic is to cover multidisciplinary research on postbiotics in order to understand their mode of action, therapeutic application, and commercialization.This Research Topic invites Original Research Articles, Reviews, Mini Reviews, Systematic Reviews, Perspectives, and Clinical Studies addressing the following themes:• Molecular Mechanisms underlying postbiotic potential• Host–microbiome interactions and immunomodulation• Postbiotics in human health and precision medicine• Postbiotics against AMR pathogens• Recent advances in Omics-based characterization of postbiotics• Applications of postbiotics in veterinary, aquaculture, and agriculture• Clinical trials and translational research• Manufacturing technologies, quality control, and standardization• Regulatory and safety aspects associated with industrial production of postbiotics• Postbiotics, AI and computational approaches • Postbiotics and microbiome engineering/editingWe definitely welcome contributions from multiple disciplines that can combine microbiome studies, metabolomics, systems biology, artificial intelligence, precision medicine, and translational research in order to help develop next-generation postbiotics. Topic editors: Biplab Singha, Pooja Patel, Chinmayi Joshi Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/82813/next-generation-postbiotics-therapeutic-applications-in-infectious-diseases-and-beyond