The vagus nerve finely monitors the development of an accurate inflammatory response by ensuring the homeostatic balance between the pro-inflammatory and the anti-inflammatory state through distinct afferent neural subpopulations, subsequently cooperating within the brainstem, to generate the appropriate descending signal. Until recently, research has mostly focused on the efferent arm of the vagus nerve, namely the Cholinergic Anti-Inflammatory Pathway.

Nevertheless, decoding the discriminative sensory afferent vagal signals related to disease state is likely to enable the development of real-time diagnostic devices and greatly help with closed-loop therapeutic insights, significantly limiting autoimmune reactions. Besides, unravelling the integration of the peripheral inflammatory signals in the Nucleus of the Solitary Tract (NST) and the resulting vagal efferent output would also improve the overall modulation of the immune response.

Therefore, this special issue of Microbes & Immunity aims at addressing the precise bi-directional feedback mechanisms involving the vagus nerve at different levels of the body-brain axis in immune homeostasis. Both molecular (genes, receptors, downstream signaling pathways, effectors notably neuropeptides) or bioelectronic studies (assessing stimulation parameters), notably using machine-learning or artificial intelligence are welcome, including experimental or clinical original research papers, case reports, reviews and perspectives.