Dear Colleagues,

The role of immune responses in the lung has been brought into sharp focus with the ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Numerous microbial pathogens are a threat to lung function and overall health, particularly in those with underlying lung conditions, as well as in people with other risk factors including medical, geographical, and socioeconomic disparities. A fine balance must be achieved in the lung between sufficient immune responses to prevent or clear microbial colonization and/or disease, and the prevention of excessive immune responses that damage the lung and other tissues and organs. Effective immune responses involve innate immunity such as alveolar macrophages, neutrophils, and natural killer cells; and adaptive immune responses including T cells (CD4 and CD8), and B cells/antibodies. However, the precise divide—and relationship—between innate and adaptive immunity is being revealed as far less clear than previously understood. Whilst vaccines are predominantly focused on generating, via injection, adaptive immune responses that are mobile and able to home to the lungs, the need for locally-generated or locally-focused innate and adaptive immune memory is receiving increased attention. Categories of immune responses, including the appropriate cellular effector, memory, homing, and specificity phenotype, are key. This Special Issue of JoR aims to bring together current research and opinion on lung immunity and its role in naturally and artificially/vaccine-generated protective immunity against lung pathogens.

You may choose our Joint Special Issue in Cells.

Prof. Dr. Stephen Todryk
Dr. Joshua Gray
Dr. Steven Smith
Dr. Ryan Thwaites
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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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. Journal of Respiration is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly 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 1000 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.

• lung immunity
• T cells
• lung infection
• immunopathology
• vaccines