The oral cavity is a complex environment from an immunological perspective. Chronic exposure of the oral cavity to a plethora of microorganisms and antigens highlights the importance of the role of mucosal and systemic immune system protection against these microbes and particles.

Nevertheless, dysregulation of the host-immune interaction may be the main cause of some chronic oral conditions, such as periodontal diseases. The clinical relevance of the association between oral pathological conditions and the occurrence of systemic diseases has increased clinicians' interest in understanding the underlying pathophysiologic mechanisms of this clinical relationship. On the other hand, oral manifestations are one of the primary signs of Primary and Secondary Immunodeficiency Diseases, Immune Dysregulations, and Autoimmunity in some cases; this can be an effective diagnostic approach that should not be overlooked.

In this book, the mechanism of oral tolerance and probable causes of its imbalance will be addressed. As the assessment of interrelationship between immunity and oral cavity is still understudied from numerous aspects, this book aims to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of how oral diseases may be the leading cause for the development of different systemic conditions. It also explores the clinicopathological roles of the immunological factors in oral pathological conditions such as oral malignancies, chronic diseases, and other oral lesions. In addition to mucosal immunology of the oral cavity, the future perspectives of oral mucosal immunotherapy are among the emerging issues of the past decade that will be discussed comprehensively in this book.

Autorentext

Professor Nima Rezaei gained his medical degree (MD) from Tehran University of Medical Sciences and subsequently obtained an MSc in Molecular and Genetic Medicine and a PhD in Clinical Immunology and Human Genetics from the University of Sheffield, UK. He also spent a short-term fellowship of Pediatric Clinical Immunology and Bone Marrow Transplantation in the Newcastle General Hospital. Professor Rezaei is now the Full Professor of Immunology and Vice Dean of Research and Technologies, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, and the co-founder and Head of the Research Center for Immunodeficiencies. He is also the Founder of the Universal Scientific Education and Research Network (USERN). Prof. Rezaei supervised more than two hundred research projects and designed and participated in several international collaborative projects. Prof. Rezaei is the editor, editorial assistant, or editorial board member of more than fifty international journals. He edited more than one hundred international books, presented more than a thousand lectures in congresses/meetings, and published more than 1,500 scientific papers in the international journals.

Dr. Heliya Ziaei earned her Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) from Tehran University of Medical Sciences in 2020 and is currently completing her PhD in Craniofacial Molecular Biology at the Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry, University of Southern California. She has contributed to several interdisciplinary research projects in the areas of oral biology, craniofacial developmental science, and regenerative medicine. Dr. Ziaei served as Executive Director and Deputy of International Affairs at the Universal Scientific Education and Research Network (USERN). She has co-authored several peer-reviewed scientific articles and book chapters and has presented more than twenty lectures at academic conferences and meetings.