Nutrition and its Effects on Trained Immunity

The concept of trained immunity has transformed our understanding of innate immune responses. Unlike the classical view of innate immunity as a non-specific, short-lived defense, trained immunity describes a form of innate immune memory whereby monocytes, macrophages, natural killer cells, and innate lymphoid cells undergo long-term functional reprogramming following a primary stimulus. This reprogramming, mediated through epigenetic modifications, metabolic rewiring, and transcriptional changes, enhances or suppresses subsequent immune responses, with profound implications for infection, inflammation, autoimmunity, and chronic disease.Emerging evidence points to nutritional factors as powerful modulators of this process. Dietary components, including micronutrients, fatty acids, polyphenols, dietary fibers, fermented foods, and caloric patterns such as intermittent fasting, are increasingly recognised as capable of shaping the epigenetic landscape and metabolic state of innate immune cells. Nutrients such as vitamin D, zinc, selenium, and short-chain fatty acids, for instance, influence histone modifications and DNA methylation patterns that underpin trained immunity. Similarly, gut microbiota produces metabolites that reprogram myeloid progenitors in the bone marrow, extending the reach of nutritional influence well beyond the gut.Despite rapid scientific progress, key questions remain unresolved: Which dietary components most potently drive or suppress trained immunity? What are the relevant molecular targets and timeframes? Can nutritional interventions be designed to harness trained immunity for disease prevention or immune resilience? And how do inter-individual factors, including genetics, microbiome composition, age, and metabolic health, modulate the nutritional regulation of innate immune memory?This Research Topic aims to bring together experimental, translational, and clinical research exploring the intersection of nutrition and trained immunity. We welcome contributions addressing:• Dietary components and epigenetic reprogramming of innate immune cells (e.g., histone modifications, DNA methylation, chromatin remodelling).• Metabolic rewiring of monocytes, macrophages, and NK cells driven by nutritional stimuli (e.g., glycolysis, oxidative phosphorylation, the TCA cycle).• Gut microbiota and microbial metabolites as intermediaries between diet and trained immunity.• Specific nutrients or dietary patterns (Mediterranean diet, plant-based diets, caloric restriction, intermittent fasting) and their effects on innate immune memory.• Nutritional modulation of trained immunity in disease contexts, including metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, infection, cancer, and aging.• Clinical and translational studies evaluating nutritional interventions targeting trained immunity.• Methodological advances in measuring trained immunity in human cohorts.We invite Original Research articles, Systematic Reviews, Mini-Reviews, and Perspective pieces from researchers across immunology, nutrition science, epigenetics, microbiology, and translational medicine. Topic editors: Julio Villena, Haruki Kitazawa, Susana Salva Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/81688/nutrition-and-its-effects-on-trained-immunity