AccScience Publishing / MI / Online First / DOI: 10.36922/MI025100019
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REVIEW ARTICLE

Innovative perspectives on pulmonary immune responses: Pathogens versus protectors

Saeid Besharati1* ,  Zohreh Nazari Yazdi1 ,  Marjan Sistani1 ,  Shirin Esmaili Dolabinezhad1
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1 Nursing Research Center of Respiratory Diseases, National Research Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases, Shahid Beheshti University of Medicine Sciences, Tehran, Iran
MI, 025100019 https://doi.org/10.36922/MI025100019
Received: 6 March 2025 | Revised: 23 April 2025 | Accepted: 8 May 2025 | Published online: 3 June 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Immune Responses to Pulmonary Infections)
© 2025 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
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Abstract

The pulmonary immune system serves as a critical frontline in the host’s defense against invading pathogens. Understanding the dynamic interplay between invading pathogens and the host’s immune defenses is essential for the development of innovative therapeutic strategies. This review explores the complex mechanisms underlying pulmonary immune responses, with a focus on the balance between pathogen virulence and host immunity. Relevant publications – including peer-reviewed articles, clinical studies, and technological advancements published between 2020 and 2025 – were identified through searches of electronic databases such as Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. The findings reveal that pathogens employ sophisticated strategies to evade immune detection, such as modulation of host cell signaling pathways and the secretion of virulence factors. Conversely, the host mounts protective immune responses characterized by rapid activation of innate immunity, cytokine-mediated signaling, and the development of adaptive immune memory. Notably, recent studies have reported several novel biomarkers associated with enhanced pathogen clearance and tissue repair, highlighting their potential as therapeutic targets. This review provides new insights into pulmonary immune responses, highlighting the delicate balance between pathogen evasion and host defense mechanisms. By identifying key immune regulators and pathogen-specific vulnerabilities, it highlights potential targets for innovative treatments to enhance pulmonary immunity. These findings underscore the importance of interdisciplinary approaches in advancing knowledge of respiratory infections and immune defense.

Keywords
Host defense
Immune regulation
Pathogen evasion
Respiratory infections
Pulmonary immunity
Therapeutic targets
Funding
None.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
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