Lipidology: A New Open Access Journal

On behalf of all the Editorial Board members and MDPI staff, I am pleased to announce the publication of the inaugural issue of the Lipidology journal [1] (ISSN: 2813-7086), a peer-reviewed and open access online journal that aims to become the publishing platform of choice for all researchers researching lipids. We believe that a journal centred on lipidology is essential for gathering and spotlighting cutting-edge advances in the study of all types of lipids, such as fatty acids, triglycerides, glycerophospholipids, sphingolipids, and steroids. All of these molecules play fundamental roles in human physiology, and their dysregulation is associated with neurodegenerative, cardiovascular, genetic, liver, and kidney diseases, as well as many rare diseases. Lipidology will collect original research, review papers, communications, perspectives, opinions, and technical notes, as well as publish Special Issues on the different scientific disciplines related to lipids, such as chemistry, biochemistry, biotechnology, pharmacology, nutrition, metabolism, and clinical science (Figure 1).

The recent development of new technologies to determine the complete lipid profile (lipidome) within a cell, tissue, organism, or ecosystem has been a vital step forward in defining the biochemical mechanisms of lipid-related disease processes via the identification of alterations in cellular lipid metabolism, trafficking, and homeostasis. A complete understanding of lipid metabolism and its alteration in different lipid-related pathologies is crucial for the development of new pharmacological interventions. One key example in this field is represented by the class of drugs that are currently used for the treatment of atherosclerotic coronary artery diseases and that affect lipid metabolism—statins, fibrates, and PCSK9 and ANGPTL3 inhibitors. However, many other diseases that are also associated with lipid dysmetabolism require further investigation for drug development, including neurovegetative diseases. Furthermore, lipids are essential components of our diet, and numerous studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of healthy dietary patterns and lifestyles for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases. Our journal is thus open to researchers involved in nutritional intervention and epidemiological studies related to lipid consumption and human health. Finally, lipids are important biotechnological tools for mRNA delivery, as observed for lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) utilized in mRNA-based vaccines to prevent SARS-CoV-2, the cause of COVID-19. This field is extremely important for the development of new drug delivery systems that have the potential to improve the efficacy, safety, and compliance of biotechnological therapies, such as siRNA, monoclonal antibodies, and recombinant proteins.

The editors, Editorial Board, and publisher invite you to submit your work to this journal and join us as we develop a community of multidisciplinary researchers in the field of lipidology. We hope that you will consider Lipidology as the journal of choice for your research, and we look forward to collaborating with you.