Editorial: Infectious Agent-Induced Chronic Immune Activation: Causes, Phenotypes, and Consequences

Abstract

International audiencePersistent immune activation and dysfunction induced by infectious agents may contribute to long term comorbid conditions in individuals exposed to these pathogens. Even during successful antimicrobial treatment, increased levels of inflammation and immune cell activation and inappropriate immune cell migration and retention in tissue sites may contribute to tissue damage and end organ disease (e.g., atherosclerosis or liver or kidney damage). Understanding why some populations infected with a pathogen are able to regulate their immune responses and limit their inflammatory consequences, while other individuals may have exacerbated and persistent immune responses even during suppressive therapy, may provide insights for development of complementary immune-modulatory therapies that may reduce inflammation and morbidity and mortality in these groups. The Research Topic highlights some of these issues.Any infection induces the activation of the human immune system via various mechanisms. The problem is that although some forms of this immune activation are beneficial for the eradication of the microbial agent, others may be toxic, not only in the short term but also in the long term. It is therefore important to understand these pathogenic pathways, inasmuch as they may persist even under efficient antimicrobial therapy