The Reproductive Immune Microenvironment in Livestock: Innate Tolerance, Inflammation, and Precision Fertility Strategies

Fertility in livestock depends on more than gamete quality or reproductive timing. It is shaped by dynamic immune microenvironments within the follicle, semen, uterus, embryo-maternal interface, and male reproductive tract. Across these compartments, immune activation must be tightly controlled: strong enough to protect against pathogens and tissue stress, but restrained enough to support sperm survival, oocyte competence, embryo development, implantation, and pregnancy establishment.Recent work has placed innate immune signaling at the center of this balance. Toll-like receptors, microbial ligands, sperm-derived signals, semen extenders, extracellular matrix components, cytokines, oxidative stress markers, lipid metabolites, and endocrine mediators all influence reproductive outcomes. In the uterus, TLR-driven inflammation may impair tolerance and implantation. In the follicular environment, inflammatory and metabolic signals may alter oocyte competence. In the male tract, vascular, endocrine, oxidative, and immune-related changes can shape semen quality and reproductive performance.This broader view is especially timely as livestock reproduction moves toward more precise interventions, including postbiotic and probiotic-derived molecules, targeted anti-inflammatory strategies, improved semen and embryo culture systems, and molecular profiling of reproductive tissues and fluids. Yet key gaps remain. We still lack an integrated understanding of how immune signals across reproductive compartments translate into measurable fertility outcomes, and how these pathways differ across cattle, horses, sheep, goats, pigs, camels, and other relevant mammalian models.This Research Topic aims to bring together mechanistic, translational, comparative, and computational studies that define how reproductive immune microenvironments shape fertility in livestock and other mammals. We welcome work that connects innate immune pathways with endocrine, metabolic, oxidative, microbial, and cellular mechanisms, with the goal of identifying practical strategies to improve reproductive success.We welcome submissions addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:1. Innate immune signaling across reproductive tissuesMechanisms of TLR and pattern-recognition receptor signaling in the ovary, oviduct, uterus, placenta, testis, epididymis, and accessory reproductive tissues.2. Follicular fluid, oocyte competence, and inflammatory toneHow cytokines, LPS/endotoxemia, lipid metabolites, oxidative stress, progesterone, estradiol, and other local mediators influence follicular function, oocyte maturation, and embryo developmental potential.3. Uterine immune tolerance and embryo-maternal dialogueMechanisms that regulate inflammation, immune tolerance, implantation, and pregnancy establishment, including sperm-uterine epithelial cross-talk and endogenous mediators such as hyaluronan.4. Sperm, seminal plasma, and semen extenders as immune modulatorsHow spermatozoa, seminal plasma, cryopreservation, semen extenders, and microbial or molecular contaminants shape female tract immune reactivity and fertility outcomes.5. Male reproductive immune and oxidative physiologyLinks between testicular or epididymal inflammation, oxidative stress, vascular regulation, endocrine status, semen quality, and fertility in livestock species.6. Microbial, probiotic, and postbiotic signals in reproductive healthThe role of microbial products, peptidoglycans, LPS, microbiota-derived metabolites, probiotics, postbiotics, and bioactive formulations in reproductive inflammation and tolerance.7. Endocrine-metabolic-immune crosstalkInteractions among progesterone, testosterone, cytokines, lipid metabolism, oxidative stress, and immune signaling in male and female reproductive function.8. Comparative and species-specific reproductive immunologyStudies across cattle, horses, sheep, goats, pigs, camels, rodents, and other mammals that reveal conserved or divergent immune mechanisms relevant to livestock fertility.9. Multi-omics, computational, in vitro, and ex vivo approachesProteomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics, pathway modeling, TLR-ligand modeling, organoid systems, reproductive tissue explants, follicular fluid profiling, and semen or embryo culture models. Topic editors: Mohamed Aboul Ezz, Mohamed Hedia, Alireza Mansouri Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/81726/the-reproductive-immune-microenvironment-in-livestock-innate-tolerance-inflammation-and-precision-fertility-strategies