Editorial: Innate Immune Cells in the Control of Intracellular Bacteria

BALBOA, LUCIANA; BAENA, ANDRES; CARREÑO, LEANDRO J.

Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology

Lausanne : Frontiers Media SA

Año: 2022 vol. 12

Although the great advances in hygiene and health conditions, as well as vaccines against infectious diseases, bacterial infections remain a public health problem, especially in poor and underdeveloped countries. vaccines remain and probably will continue to be the most effective way to prevent and control infection diseases, thus redefining the specificities of the immune responses for each individual pathogen is of key importance for the rational design of novel and more effective vaccines. Although the ultimate goal is to produce robust and long-lasting (memory) adaptive immune responses, to achieve this goal is important to pay attention to the key components that initiate all immune responses: innate immune cells.Cells of the innate immune system are key players at initiating and regulating adaptive immune responses, impacting the outcome of the control of the infection and the later memory against pathogens. Although classically these cells were thought to be involved in early immune response to infection, it has been described that they can play roles beyond their mainly described effector functions, by modulating the activation and differentiation of the cells responsible for the establishment of adaptive immune response: T cells and B cells. Due to their rapid action and the great influence, they can exert in the outcome of an anti-pathogen immune response, innate immune cells such as natural killer (NK) cells, dendritic cells (DCs), macrophages, innate lymphoid cells (ILCs), natural killer T (NKT) cells, among others, are attractive immunotherapeutic targets to boost immunity against pathogens, as well as to improve vaccine quality. The role that innate cells play in different infections can also be responsible for an immune exacerbation that lead to detrimental inflammation to the host with poor or no elimination of the pathogen. In a world facing the worst pandemic of the century, the understanding of the innate immune response has gained a lot of attention since they can give us several clues to develop immunotherapeutic approaches against pathogen infection. Since the discovery of ILCs in the last decade, a lot of attention has been given to the specific role of innate immune cells in different immune related diseases, with a special emphasis on infection diseases. Determining the specific role that they play in specific infections has taken special importance to design effective vaccines and immunotherapies. This Research Topic aims to shed light on our current understanding of the role of innate immune cells on pathogen infection, focusing on the immune response to intracellular bacteria.