In this Research Topic, we have explored the synergistic effects and mechanisms between DNA damage induction and inflammatory response under a variety of cellular stresses like radiations, replication stress, environmental chemicals, bacteria etc. In general, we believe that priority in research must be given to studies following a holistic approach and at the organism level from plants, flies, worms to mouse, and humans. We consider this to be a genuine example of a Systems Biology application in life. Several lines of evidence suggest that DNA-damage especially the one resistant to repair can cause immune reaction and inflammation, and is linked to cancer development and other pathologies (Ermolaeva et al., 2013; Karakasilioti et al., 2013). On the other hand, it is generally accepted that chronic inflammation can cause DNA persistent damage and act as a driver for pathophysiological phenotypes like cancer (Pateras et al., 2015).

The present Research Topic nicely represents the different approaches and current understanding in the association between DNA damage, inflammatory and immune response under different types of stress. These approaches include cell biology, biochemistry, genetics, bioinformatics, as well as computational and experimental evidence. Scientists from all these fields work effectively together to unravel the mechanisms of how a type of stress in the organism can result to the induction of a chronic state of inflammation and immune system triggering, primarily, with the DNA damage acting as the mediator.