Submit to IJMS Review for IJMS Propose a Special Issue

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

The Role of Bioactive Lipids in Health and Disease

Print Special Issue Flyer
Special Issue Editors
Special Issue Information
Keywords
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
Published Papers

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 June 2023) | Viewed by 11868

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Valerio Chiurchiù

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

1. Institute of Translational Pharmacology, National Research Council (CNR), 00133 Rome, Italy
2. Laboratory of Resolution of Neuroinflammation, European Center for Brain Research (CERC)/IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, 00143 Rome, Italy
Interests: bioactive lipids; specialized proresolving lipid mediators (SPMs); immunology; innate and adaptive immunity; neuroinflammation; glial cells; multiple sclerosis (MS)
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067, IF 6.208) is currently running a Special Issue focused on "The Role of Bioactive Lipids in Health and Disease". Based on your excellent expertise, we would be thrilled if you could submit a paper to this issue.

Bioactive lipids are lipids involved in signaling in every cell of every organism. Over the past two decades, they have become increasingly important in many areas of biology. They are the main diffusion mediators of the inflammatory response in tissues and regulate the polarity of cell membranes; As particularly prominent signaling molecules in the immune system, various bioactive lipids are required for the proper functioning of both the innate and adaptive immune system, in the vesicle traffic required to deliver many proteins to the appropriate organelles and to maintain structure and order within the cell. Currently, over thousands of bioactive lipids, including fatty acids and their metabolic products, acylglycerol derivatives, endocannabinoids, lysophospholipids, sphingolipids, cholesterol metabolites, etc., and sterols, sphingolipids have numerous functions important for homeostatic regulation and disease pathologies, such as metabolic diseases, cancer, heart disease, neurodegenerative disorders, obesity, and diabetes. The more recently identified superfamily of specialized pro-resolving lipid mediators (SPMs) takes a center stage in the process of resolution of inflammation by activating a series of cellular and molecular events that lead to spontaneous regression of inflammatory processes and restoration of tissue homeostasis.

In this Special Issue, original research and review articles focused on the field and, specifically, the molecular mechanism of the bioactive lipids participating in homeostasis and related disorders, identifying receptors, and exploring their signal transduction, are warmly welcome.

Dr. Valerio Chiurchiù
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

eicosanoids
glycerophospholipids
sphingolipids
endocannabinoids
specialized pro-resolving mediators
inflammation
resolution of inflammation
low grade inflammation
tissue homeostasis
lipid signaling
chronic inflammatory diseases
cardiovascular diseases
autoimmunity
cancer
metabolic diseases
neurodegenerative diseases
noncommunicable diseases

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 (6 papers)

Download All Papers

Order results

Result details

Show export options Show export options

Select all

Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

13 pages, 4683 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Akt, IL-4, and STAT Proteins Play Distinct Roles in Prostaglandin Production in Human Follicular Dendritic Cell-like Cells

by Jihye Jeong and Jongseon Choe

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(23), 16692; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms242316692 - 24 Nov 2023

Viewed by 995

Abstract

This study aimed to explore the role of Akt protein in the induction and inhibition of prostaglandin (PG) in human follicular dendritic cell (FDC)-like cells. FDC-like cells and B cells were isolated from human tonsils. PG production was assessed using enzyme immunoassay, while the upstream cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) protein levels were measured using immunoblotting with FDC-like cells transfected with Akt siRNA to analyze the impact of Akt knockdown. The COX-2 expression and PG production induced with IL-1β were significantly increased by Akt knockdown. However, IL-1β did not significantly alter either total or phosphorylated Akt protein levels. Akt knockdown resulted in the augmentation of COX-2 expression induced by B cells, although the addition of B cells did not significantly modulate both total and phosphorylated Akt proteins. In contrast, IL-4 specifically exhibited a potent inhibitory effect on COX-2 protein induction and PG production via STAT6. The inhibitory activity of IL-4 was not hampered by Akt knockdown. Interestingly, COX-2 expression levels induced with IL-1β were markedly modulated with STAT1 and STAT3 knockdown. STAT1 silencing resulted in further augmentation of COX-2, whereas STAT3 silencing prohibited IL-1β from stimulating COX-2 expression. The current results suggest that Akt, IL-4, and STAT1 play inhibitory roles in PG production in FDC-like cells and expand our knowledge of the immune inflammatory milieu. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Bioactive Lipids in Health and Disease)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

11 pages, 1586 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Aβ Chronic Exposure Promotes an Activation State of Microglia through Endocannabinoid Signalling Imbalance

by Lucia Scipioni, Daniel Tortolani, Francesca Ciaramellano, Federico Fanti, Thais Gazzi, Manuel Sergi, Marc Nazaré, Sergio Oddi and Mauro Maccarrone

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(7), 6684; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24076684 - 3 Apr 2023

Viewed by 1994

Abstract

Dysfunctional phenotype of microglia, the primary brain immune cells, may aggravate Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathogenesis by releasing proinflammatory factors, such as nitric oxide (NO). The endocannabinoids N-arachidonoylethanolamine (AEA) and 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) are bioactive lipids increasingly recognised for their essential roles in regulating microglial activity both under normal and AD-driven pathological conditions. To investigate the possible impact of chronic exposure to β-amyloid peptides (Aβ) on the microglial endocannabinoid signalling, we characterised the functional expression of the endocannabinoid system on neonatal microglia isolated from wild-type and Tg2576 mice, an AD-like model, which overexpresses Aβ peptides in the developing brain. We found that Aβ-exposed microglia produced 2-fold more 2-AG than normal microglia. Accordingly, the expression levels of diacylglycerol lipase-α (DAGLα) and monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL), the main enzymes responsible for synthesising and hydrolysing 2-AG, respectively, were consistently modified in Tg2576 microglia. Furthermore, compared to wild-type cells, transgenic microglia basally showed increased expression of the cannabinoid 2 receptor, typically upregulated in an activated proinflammatory phenotype. Indeed, following inflammatory stimulus, Aβ-exposed microglia displayed an enhanced production of NO, which was abolished by pharmacological inhibition of DAGLα. These findings suggested that exposure to Aβ polarises microglial cells towards a pro-AD phenotype, possibly by enhancing 2-AG signalling. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Bioactive Lipids in Health and Disease)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

16 pages, 10285 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Cell-Type-Specific Gene Regulatory Networks of Pro-Inflammatory and Pro-Resolving Lipid Mediator Biosynthesis in the Immune System

by Matti Hoch, Jannik Rauthe, Konstantin Cesnulevicius, Myron Schultz, David Lescheid, Olaf Wolkenhauer, Valerio Chiurchiù and Shailendra Gupta

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(5), 4342; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24054342 - 22 Feb 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2154

Abstract

Lipid mediators are important regulators in inflammatory responses, and their biosynthetic pathways are targeted by commonly used anti-inflammatory drugs. Switching from pro-inflammatory lipid mediators (PIMs) to specialized pro-resolving (SPMs) is a critical step toward acute inflammation resolution and preventing chronic inflammation. Although the biosynthetic pathways and enzymes for PIMs and SPMs have now been largely identified, the actual transcriptional profiles underlying the immune cell type-specific transcriptional profiles of these mediators are still unknown. Using the Atlas of Inflammation Resolution, we created a large network of gene regulatory interactions linked to the biosynthesis of SPMs and PIMs. By mapping single-cell sequencing data, we identified cell type-specific gene regulatory networks of the lipid mediator biosynthesis. Using machine learning approaches combined with network features, we identified cell clusters of similar transcriptional regulation and demonstrated how specific immune cell activation affects PIM and SPM profiles. We found substantial differences in regulatory networks in related cells, accounting for network-based preprocessing in functional single-cell analyses. Our results not only provide further insight into the gene regulation of lipid mediators in the immune response but also shed light on the contribution of selected cell types in their biosynthesis. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Bioactive Lipids in Health and Disease)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

12 pages, 2592 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Impairment of Endogenous Synthesis of Omega-3 DHA Exacerbates T-Cell Inflammatory Responses

by Emanuela Talamonti, Anders Jacobsson and Valerio Chiurchiù

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(4), 3717; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24043717 - 13 Feb 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2335

Abstract

Omega-3 (ω-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids, including docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), are involved in numerous biological processes and have a range of health benefits. DHA is obtained through the action of elongases (ELOVLs) and desaturases, among which Elovl2 is the key enzyme involved in its synthesis, and can be further metabolized into several mediators that regulate the resolution of inflammation. Our group has recently reported that ELOVL2 deficient mice (Elovl2^−/−) not only display reduced DHA levels in several tissues, but they also have higher pro-inflammatory responses in the brain, including the activation of innate immune cells such as macrophages. However, whether impaired synthesis of DHA affects cells of adaptive immunity, i.e., T lymphocytes, is unexplored. Here we show that Elovl2^−/− mice have significantly higher lymphocytes in peripheral blood and that both CD8+ and CD4+ T cell subsets produce greater amounts of pro-inflammatory cytokines in both blood and spleen compared to wild type mice, with a higher percentage of cytotoxic CD8+ T cells (CTLs) as well as IFN-γ-producing Th1 and IL-17-producing Th17 CD4+ cells. Furthermore, we also found that DHA deficiency impacts the cross-talk between dendritic cells (DC) and T cells, inasmuch as mature DCs of Elovl2^−/− mice bear higher expression of activation markers (CD80, CD86 and MHC-II) and enhance the polarization of Th1 and Th17 cells. Reintroducing DHA back into the diets of Elovl2^−/− mice reversed the exacerbated immune responses observed in T cells. Hence, impairment of endogenous synthesis of DHA exacerbates T cell inflammatory responses, accounting for an important role of DHA in regulating adaptive immunity and in potentially counteracting T-cell-mediated chronic inflammation or autoimmunity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Bioactive Lipids in Health and Disease)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

12 pages, 1187 KiB

Open AccessArticle

F₄-Neuroprostane Effects on Human Sperm

by Elena Moretti, Cinzia Signorini, Daria Noto, Roberta Corsaro, Lucia Micheli, Thierry Durand, Camille Oger, Jean Marie Galano and Giulia Collodel

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(2), 935; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24020935 - 4 Jan 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1792

Abstract

Swim-up selected human sperm were incubated with 7 ng F₄-neuroprostanes (F₄-NeuroPs) for 2 and 4 h. Sperm motility and membrane mitochondrial potential (MMP) were evaluated. The percentage of reacted acrosome was assessed by pisum sativum agglutinin (PSA). Chromatin integrity was detected using the acridine orange (AO) assay and localization of the ryanodine receptor was performed by immunofluorescence analysis. Sperm progressive motility (p = 0.02) and the percentage of sperm showing a strong MMP signal (p = 0.012) significantly increased after 2 h F₄-NeuroP incubation compared to control samples. The AO assay did not show differences in the percentage of sperm with dsDNA between treated or control samples. Meanwhile, a significantly higher number of sperm with reacted acrosomes was highlighted by PSA localization after 4 h F₄-NeuroP incubation. Finally, using an anti-ryanodine antibody, the immunofluorescence signal was differentially distributed at 2 and 4 h: a strong signal was evident in the midpiece and postacrosomal sheath (70% of sperm) at 2 h, whereas a dotted one appeared at 4 h (53% of sperm). A defined concentration of F₄-NeuroPs in seminal fluid may induce sperm capacitation via channel ions present in sperm cells, representing an aid during in vitro sperm preparation that may increase the positive outcome of assisted fertilization. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Bioactive Lipids in Health and Disease)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

14 pages, 2295 KiB

Open AccessReview

Promising Anti-Inflammatory Tools: Biomedical Efficacy of Lipoxins and Their Synthetic Pathways

by Junxi Chi, Jiahao Cheng, Shang Wang, Cheng Li and Ming Chen

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(17), 13282; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms241713282 - 27 Aug 2023

Viewed by 1873

Abstract

Lipoxins (LXs) have attracted widespread attention as a class of anti-inflammatory lipid mediators that are produced endogenously by the organism. LXs are arachidonic acid (ARA) derivatives that include four different structures: lipoxin A4 (LXA4), lipoxin B4 (LXB4), and the aspirin-induced differential isomers 15-epi-LXA4 and 15-epi-LXB4. Because of their unique biological activity of reducing inflammation in the body, LXs have great potential for neuroprotection, anti-inflammatory treatment of COVID-19, and other related diseases. The synthesis of LXs in vivo is achieved through the action of lipoxygenase (LO). As a kind of important enzyme, LO plays a major role in the physiological processes of living organisms in mammals and functions in some bacteria and fungi. This suggests new options for the synthesis of LXs in vitro. Meanwhile, there are other chemical and biochemical methods to synthesize LXs. In this review, the recent progress on physiological activity and synthetic pathways of LXs is summarized, and new insights into the synthesis of LXs in vitro are provided. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Bioactive Lipids in Health and Disease)

► Show Figures

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

The Role of Bioactive Lipids in Health and Disease

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editor

Special Issue Information

Keywords

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

Published Papers (6 papers)

Research

Review

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI