Essential Molecules in Life: Regulation, Defense, and Longevity, 2nd Edition

Dear Colleagues,

During the reproduction, development, longevity and evolution of the different living beings that make up the extraordinary biodiversity of animal and plant species in their environment, there have been, are and will be chemical molecules that have played a crucial role in assisting these biological processes.

Many are the examples we can give, such as amino acids, monosaccharides, disaccharides and polysaccharides, nucleotides, essential fatty acids, significant lipids, primary metabolites, secondary metabolites, peptides, low molecular weight proteins, high molecular weight proteins, different types of nucleic acids.

Different amino acids, such as aromatic, branched, sulfur-containing and simple ones like glycine, have been authentic precursors of molecules indispensable for life, among them we must mention regulators of enzymatic and metabolic activity, hormones, neurotransmitters, coenzymes, proteins like collagen, etc.

Among the nucleotides that, in addition to being the constituents of the different nucleic acids, such as DNA and RNA, single-, di- and triphosphorylated nucleosides, are presented as true regulators of metabolic activity, as a store of chemical energy or as biosynthetic precursors; cyclic nucleotides, such as cyclic AMP and cyclic GMP as cellular and physiological regulators. In this section, we should also include the different types of microRNAs (miRNAs) and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) because of their relevant role in most cellular, physiological and pathological processes, which have been highlighted in recent years.

Essential fatty acids (n3 and n6 series), simple lipids such as cholesterol and its derivatives, or complex lipids such as cephalins, lecithins, inositols, cardiolipins, etc., which also behave as authentic and indispensable in the regulation and development of numerous cellular processes.

Primary metabolites such as pyruvate, acetyl-CoA, etc. that behave as metabolic crossroads; or secondary metabolites such as the different classes of phytochemicals that are key to understanding not only the defense of the organisms that generate them, but also behave as authentic regulators of immune, inflammatory, anticancer, antioxidant, etc. activity, all of these bioactivities being key to understanding the role in biological longevity.

The rest of the key molecules, peptides, low molecular weight proteins, high molecular weight proteins, different types of nucleic acids, are equally essential to understand the behavior, development and evolution of living beings.

Therefore, this special issue aims to publish the most recent and innovative advances of all the molecules and macromolecules defined above, as well as others not mentioned, both the original ones and different chemical derivatives of them, to help us understand their role in the prevention, defense, development, longevity and evolution of all living beings.

Dr. Eva E. Rufino Palomares
Dr. Amalia Pérez-Jiménez
Prof. Dr. José Antonio Lupiáñez
Guest Editors

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