Frontiers in Immunology

Background Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) is a clinically heterogeneous inflammatory condition affecting the skin, in which mechanisms beyond histamine-mediated mast cell activation are increasingly recognized. Dysregulation of innate immune pathways, including inflammasome signaling, may contribute to disease pathogenesis. Within the inflammasome family, NOD-like receptor pyrin domain–conta…

Introduction Invasive fungal infections (IFI) remain a major therapeutic challenge due to limited antifungal options, emergence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) strains and high mortality rates. This has turned up the development of immune-based therapies to restore and/or enhance anti-fungal immune responses into a clinical priority. This is in line with the recent demonstration that antifungal acti…

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapy has achieved remarkable success in hematological malignancies, yet its efficacy in solid tumors is severely limited by the metabolically hostile tumor microenvironment (TME). Within this landscape, CAR-T cells undergo rapid functional exhaustion driven by mitochondrial dysfunction and metabolic insufficiency. This mini-review synthesizes emerging mit…

The rising global incidence and dismal prognosis of cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) underscore the profound limitations of standard therapies. While chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-based cellular immunotherapies represent a paradigm shift in oncology, their success in CCA is fundamentally constrained by a desmoplastic, immunosuppressive tumour microenvironment (TME) and significant tumour antigen hetero…

Introduction Gut dysbiosis is increasingly recognized as a factor in asthma pathogenesis, yet its relationship with disease severity and specific clinical phenotypes remains unclear. This longitudinal study investigated the dynamic changes in gut microbiota composition associated with asthma control and severity in children. Methods We identified asthmatic children and matched them with healthy c…

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), a common malignant tumor with high incidence and mortality in China, remains challenging to treat, especially in advanced stages. Traditional definitive chemoradiotherapy (dCRT) has been the standard care for unresectable locally advanced ESCC but has shown limited long-term efficacy. Recent advances in immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have opened new…

Natalizumab, a monoclonal antibody used to treat multiple sclerosis, can undergo Fab-arm exchange (FAE) with endogenous IgG4, resulting in a monovalent form with reduced avidity and presumed lower potency than the parental bivalent form. Levels of bivalent and monovalent natalizumab depend on the ratio of endogenous IgG4 to total natalizumab, which varies substantially between individuals. The cl…

Succinylation, a dynamic post-translational modification characterized by the addition of a succinyl moiety to lysine residues, has emerged as a pivotal regulator at the interface of metabolic reprogramming and immune surveillance in cancer. This review systematically delineates the molecular mechanisms and therapeutic implications of succinylation in cancer immunotherapy. We detail the writers (…

Historically, research on autoimmune diseases has primarily emphasized adaptive immunity. However, this perspective is increasingly recognized as insufficient, as it does not fully capture the complexity and heterogeneity of immune-mediated disorders. The articles in this Research Topic collectively support a conceptual shift that positions innate immunity as a key player of disease initiation, a…

IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is a rare fibro-inflammatory condition with scarce data on its clinical spectrum and management in the pediatric population.We present a single-center observational study of six children with clinically and morphologically confirmed IgG4-RD. We analyzed the age of onset, time to diagnosis, and comprehensive clinical, imaging, laboratory, and histopathological findin…

Rationale Inflammatory monocyte (MC) subset polarization is a hallmark of systemic and tissue inflammatory feature in diabetes. The underlying molecular mechanism remains unclear. Methods and results Blood pro-inflammatory Ly6C high and anti-inflammatory Ly6C low MC subsets were isolated from control (C57/BL6), type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM), and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) mice by flow cyto…

Background Macrophages and natural killer (NK) cells are innate immune components proven to be either pathogenic, protective, or both in autoimmune disorders. Nonetheless, the function of macrophages in the pathogenesis of pemphigus vulgaris (PV), an autoimmune skin disorder, is lacking. Objectives We aimed to investigate macrophages and their crosstalk with NK cells in PV, with a particular focu…

We present a standardized single-tube 17-color spectral flow cytometry workflow for integrated immunophenotyping of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). This Methods Article describes a quality-controlled protocol that combines lineage identification with activation, regulatory, and checkpoint-associated markers within a reproducible quality-control framework. Panel optimization inco…

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common subtype of malignant lymphoma in adults. Although 60–70% of patients achieve remission with first-line immunochemotherapy (R-CHOP or pola-R-CHP), approximately 30%-40% of patients still experience develop refractory or relapsed disease. Treatment resistance still remains as the major challenge in DLBCL patient management. Although there is …

Background T cells drive post-stroke secondary brain injury, with the Th17/Treg balance shaping post-stroke inflammation. Soraphen A (SorA) inhibits Th17 polarization while preserving Tregs. We examined SorA’s effects on post-stroke T cell activation – distinguishing antigen-specific from bystander activation – including inflammatory conditions induced by LPS. Methods Male Nur77 GFP mice (12–14 w…

Immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) is the most common form of primary glomerulonephritis worldwide with most patients progressing to kidney failure. Although its pathophysiology remains incompletely understood, deposition of IgA-containing immune complexes in the glomerular mesangium induces mesangial cell proliferation and overproduction of extracellular matrix components and cytokines and chem…

Background Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) exhibits profound molecular heterogeneity and aberrant cellular senescence. This study systematically dissects the senescence-associated molecular landscape to identify key regulators driving HCC progression and immune evasion. Methods Integrating multi-cohort transcriptomic datasets, we developed a robust prognostic signature using 101 machine-learning m…

Primary plasma cell leukemia (pPCL) is a rare and highly aggressive plasma cell malignancy. Patients often present with a large number of circulating plasma cells and extramedullary organ involvement at an early stage of the disease, frequently accompanied by severe infections and organ dysfunction, resulting in a poor overall prognosis. Current treatment strategies for pPCL are largely extrapola…

Introduction Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), including PD-1 inhibitors, have significantly improved survival outcomes in patients with melanoma; however, serious adverse events may occur as a consequence of immune dysregulation. Autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) is a rare but potentially life-threatening condition. While corticosteroids remain the cornerstone of AIHA management, some patien…

Monoclonal gammopathy of clinical significance (MGCS) refers to disorders in which small B-cell or plasma-cell clones produce pathogenic monoclonal immunoglobulins that cause organ injury independent of tumor burden. Because the clinical spectrum is heterogeneous and diagnostic criteria remain evolving, MGCS is frequently underrecognized, particularly when organ manifestations precede detectable …