The Role of Secretory RNases and Extracellular RNAs in the Regulation of Inflammation and Organ Injury

A special issue of Cells (ISSN 2073-4409). This special issue belongs to the section "Tissues and Organs".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 1 April 2025 | Viewed by 38

Special Issue Editors

Department of Biomedical Sciences UMKC School of Medicine, University of Missouri, Kansas City, MO, USA
Interests: endothelial biology; sepsis; viral infectious diseases; macrophage activation; signal transduction
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Guest Editor
1. Institute of Cardiovascular Disease, Key Laboratory for Arteriosclerosis of Hunan Province, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang 421001, China
2. Institute of Translational Medicine, Nanchang University, 1299 Xuefu Avenue, Nanchang 330001, China
Interests: SARS-CoV-2 protein; mechanism and pharmacology of acute lung injury caused by septic shock; molecular signal transduction, injury and repair of macrophage; vascular endothelial inflammation; cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

It has been suggested that extracellular RNAs are not inert molecules but contain biological activities. For example, extracellular RNAs were identified as danger signals involved in innate immunity related to neutrophil-mediated bacterial killing. In addition, extracellular RNA is likely serving as an initiating factor in in vivo blood coagulation. Investigations on blood–brain barrier have shown that extracellular RNA mediates endothelial permeability. Recent discoveries suggest that RNA molecules may also be localized on cell surfaces and mediate cell–cell interactions, which are important processes during inflammation. In physiological conditions, most RNases secreted in the extracellular space counteract the undesired effects of extracellular RNAs and become protective against infections or organ injury. Instead, if they enter the cell, RNases can digest intracellular RNAs, becoming cytotoxic and having advantageous effects against malignant cells. There are 13 members of secretory RNases that degrade RNAs in the extracellular space, where they play a role in innate host defense and physiological homeostasis. Interestingly, RNases 9–13, which belong to a non-canonical subgroup of the RNase A superfamily, are ribonucleolytic activity-deficient proteins with unclear biological functions. In this Special Issue, we wish to publish original articles or review articles that discuss the emerging roles and mechanisms of secretory RNases/extracellular RNA systems in the regulation of inflammation and organ injury.

Dr. Mingui Fu
Dr. Yisong Qian
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • RNase
  • extracellular RNAs
  • inflammation
  • sepsis
  • organ injury
  • innate immunity
  • neutrophils
  • monocyte/macrophages
  • endothelial cells

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