Signal Transduction to Transcription Factors in Health and Disease—Honorary Special Issue Commemorating the Work of Prof. Athanasios G. Papavassiliou

A special issue of Biomolecules (ISSN 2218-273X). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Medicine".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2024 | Viewed by 2471

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail
Guest Editor
Department of Biological Chemistry, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece
Interests: neuroinflammation; neuro-oncology; neurodegeneration; epigenetics; histone modifications; signal transduction; transcription factors
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Weill Cornell Medical College, Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, NY, USA
Interests: autoimmunity; inflammation; rheumatic diseases; signal transduction; transcription factors; drug development

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the publication of Professor Athanasios G. Papavassiliou’s seminal papers on the proto-oncogene products/components of the AP-1 transcription factor, c-Jun and c-Fos (Science 258(5090):1941-4, 1992; Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 89(23):11562-5, 1992; EMBO J 14(9):2014-19, 1995; N Engl J Med 332(1):45-7, 1995), where he elucidated crucial aspects of their transcriptional activity and introduced the concept of ‘intramolecular signal transduction’.

These mechanistic papers inspired the interest of many scientists to explore the functional elements and the biological roles of transcription factors and investigate their regulation as well as their implication in a broad spectrum of human pathophysiologies.

Over the past 30 years, intensive research has unraveled the structural diversity and multifaceted action of transcription factors as key control elements of mammalian gene expression and signal transduction outcome in health and disease, establishing the field of molecular medicine. Professor Papavassiliou remained on the forefront of these efforts, and pioneered, among others, some of the functions of transcription factors AP-1, Cbfa1 (Runx2), E2F-1, NF-κB, and STAT-3, such as their involvement in cell differentiation, cell metabolism, mechanotransduction, and tumorigenesis, highlighting their potential to be used for the design of novel small-molecule selective drugs to treat a wide gamut of human maladies.

This Special Issue is focused on the role of transcription factors (and their co-factors) in various cells and tissues in health and disease. These roles include an intricate array of gene expression modulatory effects and their impact on the development and progression of endocrine, cardiovascular, respiratory, gastrointestinal, nervous, and immune system disorders and malignancies.

The Special Issue begins with a brief overview of Professor Papavassiliou’s contributions to the field, followed by original research and review articles on the molecular mechanisms underpinning the function of transcription factors in normal cell physiology and the diseased state.

Prof. Dr. Christina Piperi
Dr. George D. Kalliolias
Guest Editors

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. Biomolecules 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.

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Editorial

Jump to: Research, Review

2 pages, 146 KiB  
Editorial
Integrating Signaling Pathways with Transcription Factor Networks—On the Trail of Sisyphus?
by Kostas A. Papavassiliou and Athanasios G. Papavassiliou
Biomolecules 2024, 14(8), 1015; https://doi.org/10.3390/biom14081015 - 16 Aug 2024
Viewed by 443
Abstract
In the context of health and disease research, cells use signaling pathways that transduce stimuli from the extracellular environment to modulate intracellular gene expression via the activity of transcription factors and cofactors (coactivators and/or corepressors) [...] Full article

Research

Jump to: Editorial, Review

19 pages, 5414 KiB  
Article
Application of Graph Models to the Identification of Transcriptomic Oncometabolic Pathways in Human Hepatocellular Carcinoma
by Sergio Barace, Eva Santamaría, Stefany Infante, Sara Arcelus, Jesus De La Fuente, Enrique Goñi, Ibon Tamayo, Idoia Ochoa, Miguel Sogbe, Bruno Sangro, Mikel Hernaez, Matias A. Avila and Josepmaria Argemi
Biomolecules 2024, 14(6), 653; https://doi.org/10.3390/biom14060653 - 3 Jun 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 959
Abstract
Whole-tissue transcriptomic analyses have been helpful to characterize molecular subtypes of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Metabolic subtypes of human HCC have been defined, yet whether these different metabolic classes are clinically relevant or derive in actionable cancer vulnerabilities is still an unanswered question. Publicly [...] Read more.
Whole-tissue transcriptomic analyses have been helpful to characterize molecular subtypes of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Metabolic subtypes of human HCC have been defined, yet whether these different metabolic classes are clinically relevant or derive in actionable cancer vulnerabilities is still an unanswered question. Publicly available gene sets or gene signatures have been used to infer functional changes through gene set enrichment methods. However, metabolism-related gene signatures are poorly co-expressed when applied to a biological context. Here, we apply a simple method to infer highly consistent signatures using graph-based statistics. Using the Cancer Genome Atlas Liver Hepatocellular cohort (LIHC), we describe the main metabolic clusters and their relationship with commonly used molecular classes, and with the presence of TP53 or CTNNB1 driver mutations. We find similar results in our validation cohort, the LIRI-JP cohort. We describe how previously described metabolic subtypes could not have therapeutic relevance due to their overall downregulation when compared to non-tumoral liver, and identify N-glycan, mevalonate and sphingolipid biosynthetic pathways as the hallmark of the oncogenic shift of the use of acetyl-coenzyme A in HCC metabolism. Finally, using DepMap data, we demonstrate metabolic vulnerabilities in HCC cell lines. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Editorial, Research

15 pages, 1028 KiB  
Review
Emerging Role of the Slit/Roundabout (Robo) Signaling Pathway in Glioma Pathogenesis and Potential Therapeutic Options
by Mariam Markouli, Athina Papachristou, Anastasios Politis, Efstathios Boviatsis and Christina Piperi
Biomolecules 2024, 14(10), 1231; https://doi.org/10.3390/biom14101231 - 29 Sep 2024
Viewed by 465
Abstract
Gliomas represent the most common primary Central Nervous System (CNS) tumors, characterized by increased heterogeneity, dysregulated intracellular signaling, extremely invasive properties, and a dismal prognosis. They are generally resistant to existing therapies and only a few molecular targeting options are currently available. In [...] Read more.
Gliomas represent the most common primary Central Nervous System (CNS) tumors, characterized by increased heterogeneity, dysregulated intracellular signaling, extremely invasive properties, and a dismal prognosis. They are generally resistant to existing therapies and only a few molecular targeting options are currently available. In search of signal transduction pathways with a potential impact in glioma growth and immunotherapy, the Slit guidance ligands (Slits) and their Roundabout (Robo) family of receptors have been revealed as key regulators of tumor cells and their microenvironment. Recent evidence indicates the implication of the Slit/Robo signaling pathway in inflammation, cell migration, angiogenesis, and immune cell infiltration of gliomas, suppressing or promoting the expression of pivotal proteins, such as cell adhesion molecules, matrix metalloproteinases, interleukins, angiogenic growth factors, and immune checkpoints. Herein, we discuss recent data on the significant implication of the Slit/Robo signaling pathway in glioma pathology along with the respective targeting options, including immunotherapy, monoclonal antibody therapy, and protein expression modifiers. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop