Molecular Pathways in Myocardial Dysfunction and Cardioprotection

Dear Colleagues,

Myocardial dysfunction, which is a compromised contractile function of the heart, may be the outcome of different factors: chronic, such as ageing, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, dysregulated lipid metabolism and oxidative stress; or acute, such as myocardial infarction, septic shock, ischemia and reperfusion stressors. However, the obscure molecular mechanisms that underlie this critical clinical condition can act either as precursors of heart failure, or as cardioprotective agents that preserve heart automaticity and work when combined with appropriate medication or physical exercise. This issue of IJMS (“Myocardial Dysfunction and Cardioprotection”) presents novel experimental and bioinformatic research in combination with narrative reviews of the existing literature, aiming to shed light on the molecular, subcellular, cellular and vascular mechanisms involved in this complex balance between physiology and pathology. Known and new effector drugs, genes, non-coding RNAs, exosomes, mitochondria, sarcoplasmic reticulum and ion pumps will be explored in human cultivated cells and animal model systems, presenting their negative as well as their positive involvement, with an emphasis on their therapeutic potential to amend the broken heart. 

Dr. Demetrios A. Arvanitis
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. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. 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.

• myocardial dysfunction
• cardiomyopathy
• myocardial infarction
• diabetes mellitus
• hypertension
• hyperglycemia
• circulating fatty acids
• reactive oxygen species
• metabolic syndrome
• ageing
• sepsis
• cardiac myocytes
• cardiac remodeling
• cardioprotection
• coronary arteries
• preconditioning
• mitochondria
• endoplasmic reticulum
• autophagy
• renin–angiotensin system
• lipotoxicity
• inflammation
• fibrosis
• heart failure