Foreword

Microorganisms are the most abundant and diverse beings on Earth and are capable of occupying various ecological niches. Among them, there are pathogenic microorganisms that have the ability to cause infections or diseases when interacting with a host, who they need to thrive and survive. Once the pathogen sets itself up in a host, it manages to avoid the host’s immune response and uses its resources to replicate before spreading to new ones.

Infectious diseases are among the main cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide and are a major challenge for the biomedical sciences. Recently, much progress has been made towards unraveling the mechanisms of microbial pathogenesis, including the immuno-inflammatory response elicited by the parasite-host relationship. It is worth mentioning that the mitochondrial DNA stands out, known for its role in oxidative phosphorylation and maternally inherited mitochondrial diseases. The release of mitochondrial DNA into the cellular cytoplasm and out to the extracellular milieu activates different pattern recognition receptors and innate immune responses leading to robust actions.

Mitochondrial DNA and the Immuno-inflammatory response: new frontiers to control specific microbial diseases aims to present state-of-the-art coverage on topics central to the understanding of the interactions between pathogenic microorganism (bacteria and virus) and hosts. The book is divided into six chapters written by professionals with expertise in the field of cell biology and immuno-inflammatory response. The chapters cover the complexity of mitochondrial metabolism; the mitochondrial dysfunction in leprosy; mitochondria and the host immune cell against Mycobacterium tuberculosis; disturbance of mitochondrial function in Streptococcus pneumoniae infection; inflammatory response in Zika virus infection and mitochondrial dysfunction; and the potential role of mtDNA as an important marker of hyper inflammation in the progress of COVID-19. This book represents a comprehensive and an indispensable tool for researchers in immunology and microbiology wishing to keep abreast with the latest developments in cellular immunology and mitochondrial DNA. In addition, it provides a reliable reference for undergraduate and graduate students in their pursuit of becoming competent future immunologists/microbiologists, as well as for health professionals in general.