Academic Journal
Q1Mucosal Immunology
About Mucosal Immunology
Mucosal Immunology is a scholarly journal published by Elsevier B.V.. SCImago 2025 places it in Q1 with an SJR of 3.089 and an H-index of 148.
Its listed coverage is 2008-2026 and its research categories include Immunology (Q1); Immunology and Allergy (Q1). The 2025 dataset reports 129 documents and 2115 citations across the latest three-year reporting window.
Mucosal immunology is a specialized field of immunology that focuses on the immune system’s activity at mucosal surfaces—the moist linings of the gastrointestinal, respiratory, and urogenital tracts. These surfaces serve as the primary entry points for many pathogens, making them critical frontiers for immune defense. The mucosal immune system plays a key role in protecting the body while maintaining a delicate balance with beneficial microbes and harmless antigens.
What is Mucosal Immunity?
Mucosal immunity refers to the immune response that occurs at the mucosal surfaces of the body. Unlike systemic immunity, which operates throughout the body, mucosal immunity is localized and uniquely adapted to protect barrier tissues. These mucosal tissues face constant exposure to external stimuli such as food particles, airborne pollutants, and infectious agents.
The mucosal immune system consists of various immune cells, tissues, and molecules specifically designed to identify and neutralize pathogens without causing unnecessary inflammation. A vital part of this system is the mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT), including the gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT) and nasopharynx-associated lymphoid tissue (NALT).
Key Components of Mucosal Immune Defense
The mucosal immune system employs both innate and adaptive immune responses. The first line of defense includes physical barriers like mucus, epithelial cells, and antimicrobial peptides that prevent pathogen entry. If a pathogen breaches these barriers, the adaptive immune system activates, primarily through secretory IgA (sIgA) antibodies. These antibodies neutralize pathogens without triggering inflammation, making them essential in maintaining tissue integrity.
Dendritic cells, T cells, and B cells also play crucial roles in detecting pathogens and initiating targeted immune responses. These components work together to ensure that the immune system can distinguish between harmful microbes and benign antigens such as food proteins or commensal bacteria.
The Role of the Gut in Mucosal Immunology
The gut is a central hub of mucosal immunity and home to a vast community of microorganisms known as the gut microbiome. This microbial ecosystem influences immune development and helps regulate immune responses. A balanced gut immune system is essential for health, while disruptions in gut immunity can lead to conditions like inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), food allergies, and autoimmune disorders.
Mucosal Immunology in Medicine and Research
Understanding mucosal immunology is crucial for developing effective vaccines and therapies. Mucosal vaccines are designed to stimulate immune responses directly at the mucosal surfaces, offering better protection against diseases like influenza, rotavirus, and even respiratory infections like COVID-19.
In addition, research into microbiome-based therapies, immune tolerance, and barrier-enhancing treatments is opening new avenues for managing chronic diseases and improving overall immune health.
Journal Metrics
Metrics can change by reporting year. Verify time-sensitive values with the publisher or indexing service.
Aims & Scope
Mucosal immunology is an essential field within immunological science that focuses on the immune system's behavior at mucosal surfaces—those found in the respiratory, gastrointestinal, and urogenital tracts. These surfaces represent over 400 square meters of tissue and are constantly exposed to the external environment. The mucosal immune system is uniquely adapted to maintain a balance between defending against pathogens and tolerating beneficial microbes and harmless substances.
Expanding Frontiers in Mucosal Immunology
The scope of mucosal immunology extends far beyond basic immunological defense. It encompasses a broad spectrum of research and clinical applications, including infectious diseases, chronic inflammation, autoimmune disorders, vaccine development, and microbiome science.
One of the most dynamic areas of research is understanding how the gut immune system interacts with the trillions of microorganisms in the digestive tract. This interplay is essential for maintaining immune homeostasis and protecting against pathogens. Disruptions in this balance, known as dysbiosis, have been linked to conditions like inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), food allergies, metabolic syndrome, and even neurological disorders.
Core Areas Within the Scope of Mucosal Immunology
1. Immune Tolerance and Regulation
A critical aspect of mucosal immunity is its ability to differentiate between harmful and harmless antigens. The mucosal immune system must avoid overreacting to dietary proteins and commensal bacteria while remaining ready to respond to threats. This selective immune response is regulated by specialized immune cells, including regulatory T cells and dendritic cells that promote immune tolerance.
2. Barrier Integrity and Epithelial Defense
The mucosal barrier is the body's first line of defense. This includes tight junctions between epithelial cells, a mucus layer rich in antimicrobial peptides, and secretory Immunoglobulin A (sIgA). Maintaining epithelial barrier integrity is crucial for preventing pathogen invasion and inflammation.
3. Microbiome and Immune Interaction
The human microbiome, especially in the gut, is a key player in mucosal immunology. Research continues to uncover how microbial metabolites influence immune cell function and how microbiome-targeted therapies can be used to treat disease.
4. Mucosal Vaccine Development
With the growing understanding of mucosal immunity, researchers are designing mucosal vaccines that target pathogens at their entry point. These vaccines aim to induce local immunity, primarily via sIgA, offering protection against diseases like influenza, COVID-19, and enteric infections.
5. Clinical Implications
The scope of mucosal immunology is also expanding into clinical practice. Therapeutic strategies targeting gut immunity, enhancing mucosal barriers, and modulating immune responses are being explored for autoimmune diseases, cancer, allergies, and more.
Recent Research Articles
Latest publications matched automatically by ISSN.
Intestinal helminths skew dendritic cell development to counter the anti-helminth immune response
Anna T. Andrusaite, Ruby F. White, Anna L.L. Heawood, Olivia Ridgewell et al.
2026-09 · DOI: 10.1016/j.mucimm.2026.100402SENP1 facilitates the adaptation of colonic non-lymphoid tissue Treg cells and restrains intestinal inflammation
Yanyun Hao, Hongzhi Liu, Qiuli Liang, Qiuju Fan et al.
2026-08 · DOI: 10.1016/j.mucimm.2026.100349Tuft cells protect against intestinal inflammation through histone deacetylase 3
Emily M. Eshleman, Taylor Rice, Amanda Waddell, Samarth Kumar et al.
2026-08 · DOI: 10.1016/j.mucimm.2026.100356Systemic IgE promotes allergic rhinitis by licensing Th2-to-Tfh conversion and local IgE production
Takuya Nakai, Saya Tezuka, Takumi Adachi, Tatsuo Ueda et al.
2026-08 · DOI: 10.1016/j.mucimm.2026.100351Delayed IL-17RA signaling in early life promotes type I interferon/CXCL10-dependent inhibition of pneumococcal clearance
Teniola Idowu, Daniel P. Fecko, Hannes Eichner, Gavyn Chern Wei Bee et al.
2026-08 · DOI: 10.1016/j.mucimm.2026.100399Editorial Board
2026-08 · DOI: 10.1016/s1933-0219(26)00097-8ILC2s govern imprinting of alveolar macrophage-mediated immune responses upon secondary helminth infection in the lung
Jonathan Pollock, Jhanvi H. Patel, Lisa-Marie Graf, Andreas Ruhl et al.
2026-08 · DOI: 10.1016/j.mucimm.2026.100367A neuro-epithelial unit regulates immunohomeostasis at barrier surfaces
Manuel O. Jakob, Eliane Dohner, Patrycja M. Forster, Christoph S.N. Klose et al.
2026-08 · DOI: 10.1016/j.mucimm.2026.100363Enteric α-defensins contribute to intestinal mucosal immunity against SARS-CoV-2 infection
Yilin Yang, Qianxi Yang, Xin Huang, Chongbing Liao et al.
2026-08 · DOI: 10.1016/j.mucimm.2026.100392Candidalysin promotes fungal-specific Th17 CD4 T cell differentiation and protective systemic immunogenicity
Ngan N.M. Nguyen, Alexander E. Brady, David B. Haslam, Corey Frazer et al.
2026-08 · DOI: 10.1016/j.mucimm.2026.100348ADP-ribosylation factor 1 sustains regulatory T cell function and mucosal immune homeostasis in ulcerative colitis
Hua-Hua Liu, Shu-Pei Wang, Shuang-Shuang Liu, Yue-Tong Wang et al.
2026-08 · DOI: 10.1016/j.mucimm.2026.100368Sex-specific in utero reprogramming of lung immunity
Anthony Maxwell, Audrey Couturier, Annie Thy Nguyen, Savannah Schick et al.
2026-08 · DOI: 10.1016/j.mucimm.2026.100352Localization of TCR-expressing natural intraepithelial lymphocytes in the colon epithelium depends on GPR15 and epithelium-derived C10ORF99
Gerald J. O’Connor, Jihae C. Choi, Nguyen T. Van, Anthony M. Klutkoski et al.
2026-08 · DOI: 10.1016/j.mucimm.2026.100355RUNX2 promotes chromatin accessibility and WNT signaling in inflamed intestinal epithelial cells
Rodolfo I. Cabrera-Silva, Zachary S. Wilson, Jael Miranda, Shuling Fan et al.
2026-08 · DOI: 10.1016/j.mucimm.2026.100361Efferent ductule epithelium orchestrates reproductive immune homeostasis under inflammatory stress
L. Vinay, G. Campolina-Silva, A.D. Andrade, P.V. Martini et al.
2026-08 · DOI: 10.1016/j.mucimm.2026.100400Pregnancy stages differentially impact maternal alveolar macrophages' function and immunity to SARS-CoV-2 infection
Alina Fokina, Lisabeth Pimenov-Reifeltshammer, Anastasiya Hladik, Karin Lakovits et al.
2026-08 · DOI: 10.1016/j.mucimm.2026.100366Zymosan-adjuvanted intranasal norovirus virus-like particle vaccine induces antiviral mucosal immune responses in infant mice
Tomoya Tsuchihashi, Shiho Kurokawa, Shigeyuki Tamiya, Yutaka Nakamura et al.
2026-08 · DOI: 10.1016/j.mucimm.2026.100401Human enteric defensin 5 protects intestinal barrier integrity via cell state–dependent P2Y11–FAK–Rac1 signaling
Mengyao Guo, Yaqian Zhang, Yaxin Liu, Chenyi Mao et al.
2026-08 · DOI: 10.1016/j.mucimm.2026.100350Eomes fate-labeling reveals a subset of Eomeslo NK cells that exhibits an ILC1-like phenotype
Vladislava Stokic-Trtica, Johannes Steffen, Xuemei Gao, Henning Peter Düsedau et al.
2026-08 · DOI: 10.1016/j.mucimm.2026.04.003Virus-specific resident memory T cell networks sustain immunity in human oral mucosa
Florian Winkler, Carmen Fischer, Laura Marie Gail, Florian Deckert et al.
2026-08 · DOI: 10.1016/j.mucimm.2026.100362Reviews
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April 22, 2025 at 4:47 pm
April 22, 2025