Skip to main content

Call for papers - Cellular immunology and HIV

Guest Editor

Joe Hou, PhD, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, United States

Submission Status: Open   |   Submission Deadline: 22 December 2024

BMC Immunology is calling for submissions to our Collection on Cellular immunology and HIV.

The aim of this Collection is to foster a deeper understanding of the intricate relationship between HIV and cellular immunology, unraveling the mechanisms of viral interaction with immune cells while exploring novel therapeutic avenues. By advancing our knowledge in this field, we aim to contribute to the global effort to combat HIV/AIDS and promote better health outcomes in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3: Good Health and Wellbeing.

New Content ItemThis Collection supports and amplifies research related to SDG 3: Good Health and Wellbeing.

Meet the Guest Editors

Back to top

Joe Hou, PhD, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, United States

Joe Hou is a dedicated computational immunologist focused on leveraging cutting-edge protective strategies and therapeutic methodologies to combat infectious diseases. His work harnesses the power of computational immunology to uncover the distinct immune responses and subgroups that emerge from diseases, observing how these patterns vary over time and space. Additionally, he investigates the underlying mechanisms and differences in vaccine efficacy, aiming to understand how protection varies among populations. Furthermore, Joe is at the forefront of research into the reasons behind individual differences in immune responses, striving to pinpoint the factors that influence these variances.

About the Collection

BMC Immunology is calling for submissions to our Collection on Cellular immunology and HIV.

HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) attacks and weakens the immune system, specifically by invading immune cells such as CD4+ T cells. This invasion of immune cells leads to a progressive decline in the immune system's ability to effectively respond to infection, eventually resulting in Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS).

HIV continues to be a major challenge to global public health, with 40 million people estimated to be living with HIV in 2021, and 1.5 million new infections estimated in the same year. However, while strategies for managing outcomes for people living with HIV have been established, there is no cure. Treating HIV is a challenge because the immune system becomes ineffective at controlling infection and preventing disease progression. HIV is also particularly adept at immune evasion, by establishing latent reservoirs that are not detected during infection, but can eventually reactivate and replicate. 

In response, the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Target 3.3: Communicable Diseases, resolves to end the HIV epidemic by 2030. In support of this objective, BMC Immunology is pleased to announce a new Collection, Cellular immunology and HIV, which will collate molecular and cellular research that improves our understanding of the underlying mechanisms of HIV and the host immune response.

We welcome submissions exploring the following areas of research:

  • Cellular immune responses and regulation in response to HIV infection
  • The interactions of HIV with different immune cell subsets
  • Mechanisms of HIV evasion from immune surveillance 
  • HIV latency and reservoirs
  • The role of immune checkpoints in HIV immunopathogenesis 
  • Immunological memory in HIV infection
  • The effect of co-infection on cellular immune responses
  • Mechanisms of immune reconstitution and the recovery of cellular immunity following antiretroviral therapy and immune-based therapy
  • Therapeutic approaches for targeting cellular immune responses for HIV prevention and control
  • Cellular responses to vaccines and strategies for vaccine development

This Collection supports SDG 3: Good Health and Wellbeing.

Image credit: Kateryna_Kon / stock.adobe.com

  1. HIV-exposed uninfected infants (HEU) appear more vulnerable to infections compared to their HIV-unexposed uninfected (HUU) peers, generally attributed to poor passive immunity acquired from the mother. This ma...

    Authors: Luc-Aimé Kagoué Simeni, Gabriel Loni Ekali, Clauvis Kunkeng Yengo, Rodrigue Kamga Wouambo, Janett Fischer, Oumarou M’rikam A. Bessong, Joseph Fokam, Louis-Marie Yindom and Jules Clément Assob Nguedia
    Citation: BMC Immunology 2024 25:54
    Content type: Research Published on:

  2. HIV has been reported to interfere with protective vaccination against multiple pathogens, usually through the decreased effectiveness of the antibody responses. We aimed to assess neutralizing antibody respon...

    Authors: Armel Landry Batchi-Bouyou, Jean Claude Djontu, Line Lobaloba Ingoba, Jiré Séphora Mougany, Freisnel Hermeland Mouzinga, Jacques Dollon Mbama Ntabi, Franck Yannis Kouikani, Arcel Christ Massamba Ndala, Steve Diafouka-kietela, Raoul Ampa and Francine Ntoumi
    Citation: BMC Immunology 2024 25:43
    Content type: Research Published on:

Submission Guidelines

Back to top

This Collection welcomes submission of original Research Articles. Should you wish to submit a different article type, please read our submission guidelines to confirm that type is accepted by the journal. Articles for this Collection should be submitted via our submission system, Snapp. During the submission process you will be asked whether you are submitting to a Collection, please select Cellular immunology and HIV from the dropdown menu.

Articles will undergo the journal’s standard peer-review process and are subject to all of the journal’s standard policies. Articles will be added to the Collection as they are published.

The Editors have no competing interests with the submissions which they handle through the peer review process. The peer review of any submissions for which the Editors have competing interests is handled by another Editorial Board Member who has no competing interests.