Advances in Biological Functions of STAT3 2.0
A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Biochemistry".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2020) | Viewed by 11929
Special Issue Editor
Interests: targeting STAT3 in cancer; STAT3 GOF mutations; STAT1/3 and chemoradioresistance; role of viruses e.g. HPV and HCV in cancer; IFN/STAT1 and viral immune-evasion; targeting HPV-mediated cancers; CMV and STAT1/3, STAT3/1 in immune modulation in cancers
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Since its discovery in the 1990s, acute-phase response factor (APRF), or signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) 3, has been shown to perform vital functions at cellular and organellar levels, both under normal as well as stressed conditions. A large amount of information on the regulation of STAT3 function, e.g., its various post-transitional modifications, including its phosphorylation at Tyr705 (pY) and Serine727 (pS) as well as acetylation, methylation, ubiquitination, ISGylation, and SUMOylation, is available now. Apart from its classic canonical phosphorylation-dependent signal transduction and activation pathways, STAT3 is now known to function as a transcription factor even without phosphorylation. Also, in addition to the nucleus, it is now known to reside in the mitochondria as well as in the endoplasmic reticulum.
The generation of cell-specific STAT3 knockout mice has indicated STAT3 contributions to cell- and organ-specific development, e.g., the development of innate immunity, the commitment of common lymphoid (CLP) and myeloid (CMP) progenitors to the dendritic cell (DC) lineage during haematopoiesis, the development of neuronal cells, musculoskeletal system, liver, reproductive tissue, mammary glands, etc. Its largely homeostatic role in various cellular stress conditions, e.g., radiation, oxidative stress, genotoxic stress, cellular senescence, autophagy, ischemia and reperfusion, and hyperosmotic stress, has now been well studied. Apart from its transcriptional functions, various non-transcriptional structural roles of STAT3, e.g., its scaffold function in platelets and its role in cytoskeletal organization, are now also known.
Many of these functions are adaptive, when dysregulated, causes chronic inflammation leading to pathologies, such as cachexia, fibrosis, organ dysfunction, and cancer. The facts that STAT3 is aberrantly activated in 50–100% cases of more than 25 different tumor types, that gain-of-function mutations of STAT3 in leukemia, lymphoma, and adenoma are now reported, and that this overactivated STAT3 plays a role in almost all hallmark functions of cancer cells make it an ideal candidate for drug targeting.
This Special Issue of the International Journal of Molecular Sciences entitled “Advances in Biological Functions of STAT3 2.0” will focus on recent advances in any of the above aspects of STAT3 functions and signal transduction research, e.g., STAT3 deletants and mutants, various organ-specific functions of STAT3, such as STAT3 role in hematopoietic cells, neuronal, or cardiovascular cells, STAT3 functions under normal conditions, STAT3 functions under stress, and regulation of STAT3 function, stressing not only p705- but also pS727-mediated functions, non-canonical functions of STAT3, unphosphorylated STAT3, STAT3 role in immune dysregulation in cancer, and its role in non-cancer diseases, e.g., asthma, inflammatory bowel disease, fibrosis, and metabolic disorders. Contributions on these and any other related topic are welcome.
Dr. Uddalak Bharadwaj
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
- STAT3 signaling and its regulation
- STAT3 and development
- STAT3 and fibrosis/cachexia/IBD/cachexia
- STAT3 and metabolism
- STAT3 functions under stress
- Non-canonical functions of STAT3
- STAT3 GOF and LOF mutants
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.
