ijms-logo

Journal Browser

Journal Browser

Calpain Family in Health and Diseases: The Road Ahead

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Macromolecules".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 January 2025 | Viewed by 3091

Special Issue Editor


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biochemistry, Showa University School of Medicine, Tokyo 142-8555, Japan
Interests: protein–protein interactions; wound healing; aneurysmal diseases
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Calpains, Ca2+-dependent intracellular proteases, are comprised of 15 homologues in mammals, and are classified into conventional and unconventional isozymes. Conventional isozymes are composed of calpain-1 and -2, which are ubiquitously expressed in almost all eukaryotes. Growing evidence suggests that these conventional isozymes proteolytically modify intracellular signalling molecules, thereby altering cellular processes including inflammatory cascades. Accordingly, defective calpain-mediated proteolysis may be involved in the pathogenesis of human diseases, such as cardiometabolic disease, neurodegenerative disorders, and cancer progression. In contrast to the conventional isozymes, unconventional calpains are expressed in a tissue-specific manner. Earlier investigations have identified pathogenic roles of unconventional calpains in a variety of diseases, including cancer and retinal degeneration, whereas targeting calpain-3 can induce limb girdle muscular dystrophy type 2A (LGMD2A). The current Special Issue highlights the recent advances in molecular-based analyses of conventional and unconventional calpains to elucidate the pathophysiological aspects of these molecules and possible clinical applications.

Dr. Takuro Miyazaki
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

  • chronic inflammation
  • gene-targeted mice
  • limited proteolytic cleavage
  • protein catabolism
  • cardiometabolic disease
  • cancer
  • neurodegenerative disease
 

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 (1 paper)

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

Review

20 pages, 3351 KiB  
Review
Calpain and Cardiometabolic Diseases
by Takuro Miyazaki
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(23), 16782; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms242316782 - 26 Nov 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2625
Abstract
Calpain is defined as a member of the superfamily of cysteine proteases possessing the CysPC motif within the gene. Calpain-1 and -2, which are categorized as conventional isozymes, execute limited proteolysis in a calcium-dependent fashion. Accordingly, the calpain system participates in physiological and [...] Read more.
Calpain is defined as a member of the superfamily of cysteine proteases possessing the CysPC motif within the gene. Calpain-1 and -2, which are categorized as conventional isozymes, execute limited proteolysis in a calcium-dependent fashion. Accordingly, the calpain system participates in physiological and pathological phenomena, including cell migration, apoptosis, and synaptic plasticity. Recent investigations have unveiled the contributions of both conventional and unconventional calpains to the pathogenesis of cardiometabolic disorders. In the context of atherosclerosis, overactivation of conventional calpain attenuates the barrier function of vascular endothelial cells and decreases the immunosuppressive effects attributed to lymphatic endothelial cells. In addition, calpain-6 induces aberrant mRNA splicing in macrophages, conferring atheroprone properties. In terms of diabetes, polymorphisms of the calpain-10 gene can modify insulin secretion and glucose disposal. Moreover, conventional calpain reportedly participates in amino acid production from vascular endothelial cells to induce alteration of amino acid composition in the liver microenvironment, thereby facilitating steatohepatitis. Such multifaceted functionality of calpain underscores its potential as a promising candidate for pharmaceutical targets for the treatment of cardiometabolic diseases. Consequently, the present review highlights the pivotal role of calpains in the complications of cardiometabolic diseases and embarks upon a characterization of calpains as molecular targets. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Calpain Family in Health and Diseases: The Road Ahead)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop