Dear Colleagues,

A Special Issue entitled “New Insights in Fish Immunology” is being launched by the journal Fishes. Research on fish immunology started in the 1960s and 1970s and was initially focused on humoral responses and descriptions of immune organs and cells. Thorough research on T cell responses and innate immunity began later and prompted subsequent studies on cell regulation and immune cell surface receptors. Afterward, attention turned particularly to the interaction between the immune system and pathogens, providing the basis for works on fish vaccination and the selection of disease-resistant fish. At the same time, assays were developed to determine the immunomodulatory properties of various dietary ingredients such as vitamins, molecules present in prokaryotic cells, bioactive plant molecules, and probiotics. These researches were mainly carried out on a limited number of bony fish species with high economic interest due to the great development of aquaculture practices. Fish immunology has emerged as a flourishing research field towards the end of the 20th century.

With this background, this Special Issue aims to present a collection of papers on new advances in fish immunity. Topics of interest include: the relationships between immune and stromal cells, innate immunity and inflammation, hypersensitivity, immune regulation, infectious diseases and host response, maternal passive immunity, fish-to-fish passive immunization, systems immunology.

Similarly, understanding the activation and differentiation of immune cells is essential for understanding immunology. Results from novel immunological methods or recent technical advances, such as single-cell or single-nucleus sequencing and imaging mass cytometry, could also foster new insights into the cell biology of immune cells, including cell differentiation or maturation. The aim of this Special Issue is to improve our knowledge of fish immunity in both health and disease and help to promote the adoption of sustainable and welfare-oriented therapeutics and prophylactic strategies for aquaculture practices.

Prof. Dr. Maria Angeles Esteban
Dr. Cristobal Espinosa Ruiz
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Fishes is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.