This Research Topic assembles original contributions and reviews from an international consortium of PIs related to interactions between pro-inflammatory cytokines and ion channels during acute lung injury and chronic heart failure.

Advances in itch research have elucidated differences between itch and pain but have also blurred the distinction between them. There is a long debate about how somatic sensations including touch, pain, itch, and temperature sensitivity are encoded by the nervous system. Research suggests that each sensory modality is processed along a fixed, direct-line communication system from the skin to the brain. Itch: Mechanisms and Treatment presents a timely update on all aspects of itch research and the clinical treatment of itch that accompanies many dermatological conditions including psoriasis, neuropathic itch, cutaneous t-cells lymphomas, and systemic diseases such as kidney and liver disease and cancer. Composed of contributions from distinguished researchers around the world, the book explores topics such as: Neuropathic itch Peripheral neuronal mechanism of itch The role of PAR-2 in neuroimmune communication and itch Mrgprs as itch receptors The role of interleukin-31 and oncostatin M in itch and neuroimmune communication Spinal coding of itch and pain Spinal microcircuits and the regulation of itch Examining new findings on cellular and molecular mechanisms, the book is a compendium of the most current research on itch, its prevalence in society, and the problems associated with treatment.

Many physiological conditions such as host defense or aging and pathological conditions such as neurodegenerative diseases, and diabetes are associated with the accumulation of high levels of reactive oxygen species and reactive nitrogen species. This generates a condition called oxidative stress. Low levels of reactive oxygen species, however, which are continuously produced during aerobic metabolism, function as important signaling molecules, setting the metabolic pace of cells and regulating processes ranging from gene expression to apoptosis. For this book we would like to recruit the experts in the field of redox chemistry, bioinformatics and proteomics, redox signaling and oxidative stress biology to discuss how organisms achieve the appropriate redox balance, the mechanisms that lead to oxidative stress conditions and the physiological consequences that contribute to aging and disease.

Volume I.A An outbreak of a respiratory disease first reported in Wuhan, China in December 2019 and the causative agent was discovered in January 2020 to be a novel betacoronovirus of the same subgenus as SARS-CoV and named severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has rapidly disseminated worldwide, with clinical manifestations ranging from mild respiratory symptoms to severe pneumonia and a fatality rate estimated around 2%. Person to person transmission is occurring both in the community and healthcare settings. The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently declared the COVID-19 epidemic a public health emergency of international concern. The ongoing outbreak presents many clinical and public health management challenges due to limited understanding of viral pathogenesis, risk factors for infection, natural history of disease including clinical presentation and outcomes, prognostic factors for severe illness, period of infectivity, modes and extent of virus inter-human transmission, as well as effective preventive measures and public health response and containment interventions. There are no antiviral treatment nor vaccine available but fast track research and development efforts including clinical therapeutic trials are ongoing across the world. Managing this serious epidemic requires the appropriate deployment of limited human resources across all cadres of health care and public health staff, including clinical, laboratory, managerial and epidemiological data analysis and risk assessment experts. It presents challenges around public communication and messaging around risk, with the potential for misinformation and disinformation. Therefore, integrated operational research and intervention, learning from experiences across different fields and settings should contribute towards better understanding and managing COVID-19. This Research Topic aims to highlight interdisciplinary research approaches deployed during the COVID-19 epidemic, addressing knowledge gaps and generating evidence for its improved management and control. It will incorporate critical, theoretically informed and empirically grounded original research contributions using diverse approaches, experimental, observational and intervention studies, conceptual framing, expert opinions and reviews from across the world. The Research Topic proposes a multi-dimensional approach to improving the management of COVID-19 with scientific contributions from all areas of virology, immunology, clinical microbiology, epidemiology, therapeutics, communications as well as infection prevention and public health risk assessment and management studies.