Nutrition and Infectious Diseases: Mechanisms, Management, and Therapeutic Strategies

Infectious diseases remain a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, posing significant challenges to healthcare systems. Beyond the direct pathogenic effects of microbes, the host's nutritional status is a critical determinant of susceptibility, disease severity, and clinical outcomes. Malnutrition—characterized by deficiencies in energy, protein, or specific micronutrients—compromises immune defenses, thereby increasing the risk of acquiring infections and exacerbating their progression. Conversely, acute and chronic infections induce a hypermetabolic state, accelerating nutrient catabolism and leading to rapid deterioration of nutritional status. This creates a vicious cycle of "Infection → Malnutrition → Immune Dysfunction → Worsened Infection" . Recent advances in immunometabolism have revealed that nutrients are not merely fuel but act as signaling molecules that modulate innate and adaptive immune responses against pathogens. Consequently, integrating evidence-based nutritional therapy into the management of infectious diseases represents a pivotal, yet often underutilized, strategy in precision medicine. This Research Topic aims to bridge the gap between basic science and clinical practice, exploring how targeted nutritional interventions can break the cycle of infection and malnutrition, enhance host resilience, and improve therapeutic efficacy against infectious diseases.This Research Topic seeks to integrate the fields of nutrition, infectious diseases, and immunology by systematically elucidating the bidirectional relationship between nutrition and infection, promoting the concept of “Nutrition as Part of Anti-infective Therapy.” Key goals include understanding how specific nutrients regulate host defense mechanisms against bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites; developing standardized and personalized nutrition support protocols for patients with various infectious diseases (e.g., sepsis, pneumonia, tuberculosis, HIV, emerging viral outbreaks); exploring the interplay between nutritional status and antimicrobial agents (antibiotics, antivirals, antifungals); and providing evidence on how nutritional interventions can reduce infection-related complications, shorten the duration of illness, lower mortality rates, and prevent post-infectious sequelae.Submissions are welcome for the following article types: Original research, review, mini-reviews, systematic reviews, research protocol, opinion that address recent progress and future directions in the nexus of nutrition and infectious diseases. We particularly welcome contributions covering, but not limited to, the following areas:1. Immunometabolism in Host Defense:• Regulatory mechanisms of macronutrients (proteins, fatty acids, carbohydrates) and micronutrients (Vitamins A, C, D, E, Zinc, Selenium, Iron, etc.) on immune cell function during active infection.• The role of metabolic reprogramming in immune cells (e.g., macrophages, T-cells) induced by nutritional status during pathogen clearance.• Biological basis for how specific nutrient deficiencies increase susceptibility to specific pathogens.2. Nutritional Management of Specific Infectious Diseases:• Nutritional support strategies for sepsis and septic shock: balancing energy provision with metabolic tolerance.• Role of nutrition in the treatment and rehabilitation of respiratory infections (e.g., pneumonia, tuberculosis, viral pneumonias).• Nutritional interventions for gastrointestinal infections and the prevention of associated malabsorption.• Management of nutrition in chronic infections such as HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis, and neglected tropical diseases.• Nutritional approaches to support patients with multidrug-resistant (MDR) organism infections.3. Gut Microbiota-Nutrition-Infection Axis:• Impact of enteral nutrition, prebiotics, probiotics, and synbiotics on gut barrier integrity and prevention of bacterial translocation.• Modulation of the microbiome to prevent or treat Clostridioides difficile infection and antibiotic-associated diarrhea.• The role of dietary fiber and fermented foods in enhancing resistance to enteric pathogens.4. Clinical Assessment and Intervention Strategies:• Correlation between nutritional risk screening tools (NRS-2002, MUST, GLIM) and outcomes in patients with severe infections.• Comparative effectiveness of different nutritional routes (enteral vs. parenteral) in managing critical infectious diseases and minimizing catheter-related bloodstream infections.• Tailored nutritional protocols for high-risk groups: elderly, diabetics, obese individuals, and cancer patients suffering from concurrent infections.• Peri-operative nutrition to prevent surgical site infections (SSI) and enhance recovery in infected wounds.5. Interplay with Antimicrobial Therapy:• How nutritional status affects the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of antibiotics and antivirals.• Nutritional strategies to mitigate antibiotic side effects and prevent secondary malnutrition.• The potential of nutrition to reduce the emergence of antimicrobial resistance by optimizing host immunity.6. Emerging Technologies and Public Health:• Application of AI and machine learning in predicting infection risk based on nutritional profiles.• Real-time metabolic monitoring in critically ill patients with severe infections.• Genomics-guided personalized nutrition for enhancing vaccine responses and infection resistance.• Public health nutrition strategies to bolster population immunity against emerging infectious disease outbreaks.• Health economics of nutritional intervention in reducing the burden of infectious diseases.7. Multidisciplinary Collaboration & Education:• Models for integrating clinical dietitians into infectious disease teams and antimicrobial stewardship programs.• Educational initiatives to promote "Nutritional Immunology" among dietitians and infectious disease specialists. Topic editors: Mingke Wang, Chunhong Zhang, Alfonso J. Rodriguez-Morales Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/79512/nutrition-and-infectious-diseases-mechanisms-management-and-therapeutic-strategies