Signal Transduction and Relevant Drugs
A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Pharmacology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 April 2024) | Viewed by 329
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Signal transduction networks are precisely regulated in space and time, safeguarding the net outcome of several physiological processes, including cardiac contractility, blood sugar regulation, learning and memory, inflammation, breathing, and smooth muscle tone. Dysregulation of the fine-tuning of these processes leads to a diverse range of degenerative disorders such as asthma, COPD, IPF, cancer, heart failure, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Key players in compartmentalized signaling networks are protein kinases and phosphatases, phosphodiesterases, cytoskeleton regulators, scaffolding proteins, G protein-coupled receptors and transient receptor potential channels, thereby creating a novel dimension of signaling bias. The adaptation of such biased devices likely addresses several preclinical challenges of modern drug discovery.
In a similar fashion, evolutionary medicine has gained tremendous interest in the context of health management, healthy aging and precision medicine in the framework of the worldwide aging population. The field aims to apply modern evolutionary theory to understand health and disease. Modern medical research and practice has focused on the molecular and physiological mechanisms underlying health and disease, while evolutionary medicine focuses on the question of why evolution has shaped these mechanisms in ways that may leave us susceptible to disease. The evolutionary approach has driven important advances in our understanding of ageing, autoimmune diseases, cancer, host–pathogen interactions and resistance. Evolutionary medicine is characterized by concepts such as worms and bacteria offering protection against autoimmune diseases, and that chronic inflammation caused, for example, by repeated exposure to infectious disease correlates with the development of cancer. Multi-disciplinary approaches combining classical fields such as molecular medicine and cell science with emerging strategies in evolutionary medicine represent a tremendously powerful tool for the future, covering patients’ need to alleviate symptoms of chronic disorders. To further accelerate the impact of drug screening platforms, the inclusion of microfluidic devices, organoids and stem-cell technology potentially open new avenues. Such strategies will certainly improve the process of personalized drug identification.
Prof. Dr. Martina Schmidt
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.
Keywords
- 3D cell cultures
- multi-organ microfluidics
- iPSC
- organoids
- metabolomics
- mitochondria
- signaling
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.