Microbiome and Genitourinary Diseases

Dear Colleagues,

The ‘microbiome’ comprises the complex and diverse microbial ecosystems that colonize different organs and tissues. The human microbiome consists of bacteria, archaea, viruses, and eukaryotes (e.g., fungi and protozoa) that significantly influence human physiology, homeostasis, and overall health. The human microbiome is a complex and dynamic microbial system that responds to multiple endogenous and exogenous factors, and our current understanding of its dynamics and impact on diseases like infection and cancers and response to therapies remains incomplete. The relationship between microorganisms and human diseases is well established, for example, for Helicobacter pylori and gastric cancer, human papilloma virus and cervical/penile cancers, Epstein–Barr Virus with Burkitt lymphoma, Escherichia coli and colorectal cancer, and Escherichia coli and recurrent urinary tract infections. Dynamic alterations in human microbiome, both in quantity and quality, are shown to alter homeostasis and impact the disease development of conditions such as urinary infections and cancers. Microbes have been shown to impact overall metabolism, influence local and systemic inflammation, and impact host antitumor immunity. Furthermore, recent findings have confirmed the importance of both the gut and urinary microbiomes in urinary tract infections and genitourinary cancers. The human microbiome has also been demonstrated to impact the responses to and efficacy of cancer therapies including immunotherapies such as immune checkpoint blockade inhibitors.

MDPI’s Microorganisms announces the launch of the Special Issue on the “Microbiome and Genitourinary Diseases”. We invite submissions of manuscripts and research articles (original and review articles) addressing the complex role of the human microbiome in genitourinary diseases like infections and cancers. The goal of this Special Issue is to enhance our current understanding and advancements in the field of microbiome research and discuss its intimate association with genitourinary diseases including infections and cancers of bladder, prostate, and kidney. A better understanding of the association between the microbiome and genitourinary diseases may produce reliable predictors of disease, prognostic indicators, and potential therapeutic targets.

This Special Issue will focus on the impact of a healthy and altered human microbiome on genitourinary disease development and its treatment. We welcome all studies that help demonstrate the relationship between the human microbiome and genitourinary diseases and their treatment.

Dr. Tariq A. Bhat
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Microorganisms is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• microbiome
• genitourinary cancers
• bladder, prostate cancer, and kidney cancer
• antitumor immunity
• immunotherapy
• urinary microbial dysbiosis
• microbiome and cancer development