Special Issue "Feature Papers"

Guest Editor
Prof. Dr. Chris O'Callaghan
Centre for Cellular and Molecular Physiology, Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Oxford, Roosevelt Drive, Oxford, OX3 7BN, UK
Website: http://www.ccmp.ox.ac.uk/ocallaghan
E-Mail: chris.ocallaghan@ndm.ox.ac.uk
Phone: +44 1865 287794
Fax: +44 1865 287787
Interests: immunity; inflammation; vascular disease; gene regulation; protein structure; function

Submission

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. Papers will be published continuously (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as 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 refereed through a peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Biology is an international peer-reviewed Open Access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. For the first couple of issues the Article Processing Charge (APC) will be waived for well-prepared manuscripts. English correction and/or formatting fees of 250 CHF (Swiss Francs) will be charged in certain cases for those articles accepted for publication that require extensive additional formatting and/or English corrections.

Type of Paper: Review
Title: The Postfusion Stage of Regulated Exocytosis
Authors: Manfred Frick, Pika Miklavc and Paul Dietl
Affiliation: Institute of General Physiology, University of Ulm, Albert-Einstein Allee 11, 89081 Ulm, Germany; E-Mail: paul.dietl@uni-ulm.de
Abstract: Regulated exocytosis is a highly conserved mechanism in evolution, by which cells release products into the extracellular space via fusion of secretory vesicles with the plasma membrane. It proceeds through distinct stages, termed the pre-, hemi-, and postfusion stage, where the formation of an exocytotic fusion pore defines the initiation of the postfusion stage. This stage is characterized by the following events, which may be transient or fully completed: First, the release of vesicle contents into the extracellular space. Second, the merger of vesicle and plasma membranes and exchange of proteins and lipids between vesicle and plasma membrane. According to the general concept, the formation of the fusion pore is the rate limiting and regulated step in the process of exocytosis. However, increasing evidence suggests that the post-fusion stage is also actively controlled and may enable fine-tuning of the amount and time course of  secretion. This review attempts to provide a comparative aspect of this stage - from fast neuroendocrine to slow epithelial release - and highlight cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in its control.

Type of Paper: Review
Title: Biomarker Gene Signature Discovery Integrating Network Knowledge
Authors: Yupeng Cun and Holger Fröhlich
Affiliation: University of Bonn, Bonn-Aachen International Center for IT (B-IT), Dahlmannstr. 2, 53113 Bonn, Germany; E-Mail: frohlich@bit.uni-bonn.de
Abstract: Discovery of prognostic and diagnostic biomarker gene signatures for diseases, such as cancer, is seen as a major step towards a better personalized medicine. During the last decade various methods, mainly coming from the machine learning or statistical domain, have been proposed for that purpose. However, one important obstacle for making gene signatures a standard tool in clinical diagnosis is the typical low reproducibility of these signatures combined with the difficulty to achieve a clear biological interpretation. For that purpose in the last years there has been a growing interest in approaches that try to integrate information from molecular interaction networks. Here we review the current state of research in this field by giving an overview about so-far proposed approaches.

Title: Increasing Biodiversity and Improving Nutrient Mitigation in Lowland Agricultural Headwaters
Authors: S. C. Pierce ¹, Kröger R. ¹ and S. Reza Pezeshki ²
Affiliations: ¹ Mississippi State University, USA
² Department of Biological Sciences, The University of Memphis, 3774 Walker Avenue, Memphis, TN 38152-3530, USA; E-Mail: pezeshki@memphis.edu
Abstract: Large tracts of lowlands have been drained to expand extensive agriculture into areas that were historically categorized as wasteland. This expansion in agriculture necessarily coincided with changes in ecosystem structure, biodiversity, and nutrient cycling.  New approaches must append current efforts toward land conservation and restoration, as the continuing impacts to receiving waters is an issue of major environmental concern. One of these approaches is agricultural drainage management. This article reviews how this approach differs from traditional conservation efforts, the specific practices involved in drainage management and the current state of knowledge on the ecology of drainage ditches. We take a bottom-up approach, examining the effects of stochastic hydrology and anthropogenic disturbance on primary production and diversity of primary producers, with special regard given to how management can affect establishment of macrophytes. We conclude with a discourse on how macrophytes in agricultural landscapes alter their environment

Type of Paper: Review
Title: Autoimmune Biology in the Regulatory T-Cell-Deficient Scurfy Mice
Authors: Shyr-Te Ju, John T. Kung and Shu Man Fu
Affiliation: Department of Medicine, Center for Inflammation and Regeneration, University of Virginia; E-Mail: SJ8R@hscmail.mcc.virginia.edu
Abstract: Due to a mutation in the Foxp3 transcription factor, Scurfy mice lack regulatory T-cells that maintain self-tolerance of the immune system. They develop multi-organ inflammation (MOI) and die around 4 weeks old. The affected organs are skin, tail, lungs and liver. In humans, endocrine and gastrointestinal inflammation are also observed, hence the disease is termed IPEX (Immunodysregulation, Polyendocrinopathy, Enteropathy, X-linked) syndrome. The 3-week period of fatal MOI offers a useful autoimmune model in which the controls by genetics, T-cell subsets, cytokines, and effector mechanisms could be efficiently investigated. In this report, we will review published work, summarize our recent studies of Scurfy double mutants lacking specific autoimmune-related genes, discuss the cellular and cytokine controls by these genes on MOI, and the organ-specificities of the MOI controlled by environments, and the effector mechanisms regulated by specific Th cytokines including several newly identified control mechanisms for organ-specific autoimmune response.