Advances in Leukocyte Migration and Location in Health and Disease

Dear Colleagues,

Immune cells are a critical component of the body that is responsible for fighting infection and disease. This diverse cell population develops, differentiates, matures, and is disposed of in the bone marrow and circulatory system. Often loaded with cytotoxic reagents that could destroy host tissue, immune cells are generally isolated in circulation from peripheral tissues within a healthy body. Because of this isolation and the characteristic patrolling nature of immune cells, they exhibit an incredible capacity for mobility to efficiently and specifically respond to pathogens and tissue damage. Importantly, immune cells are autonomous migrators, reliant on integrins and other molecules readily expressed on the cell surface, and thus their trafficking activities are tightly regulated by extracellular cues, which are largely provided by cells residing at barriers. The production and release of migration-inducing cues are dependent on the detection of non-self and self components that should be confined within cells. A massive immune cell infiltration, which usually occurs in response to barrier breaches, culminates in an often irreversible tissue remodeling and reconstitution of tissue immune components. In a healthy system, some kinds of immune cells enter the parenchyma of tissues slowly and steadily, becoming sentinels and replacing old tissue-resident immune cells, which is an important process to maintain tissue homeostasis.

While remarkable advances have been made during the past several decades, there are several outstanding questions regarding the physiological and pathological migration and location of leukocytes in health and disease: understanding of the spatial regulation of immune cell migration in the context of tissue structures, how a single immune cell integrates and responds to an array of various signals, or how a bulk of immune cells migrate to their target collectively. Further, the precise physio-mechanical mechanisms underlying immune cell locomotion are yet to be understood, with opportunities to understand metabolic pathways that regulate cell migration. Finally, mechanisms that govern infection vulnerability in elderly people and people with chronic diseases may be causally related to immune cell migration. Investigating these outstanding questions can lead to the development of efficacious therapeutic methods that manipulate immune cell migration to cure diseases. We collegially invite you to our forum for discussion to understand leukocyte migration and location and to implement the knowledge to improve human health. 

Dr. Kihong Lim
Dr. John M. Perry
Guest Editors

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