Heme Oxygenase in Health and Disease: New Insights and Future Directions
A special issue of Antioxidants (ISSN 2076-3921). This special issue belongs to the section "Antioxidant Enzyme Systems".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2025 | Viewed by 2610
Special Issue Editor
Interests: heme oxygenase in cell and organ dysfunction; heme oxygenase and biliverdin reductase activity; ferroptosis; oxidative stress response
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
We are pleased to announce a Special Issue dedicated to further exploring the critical role of heme oxygenase (HO). Responsible for heme degradation and the generation of unique products—bilirubin, carbon monoxide, and iron—HO has far-reaching implications in various physiological and pathological contexts. This issue aims to present new findings on the enzymatic processes and biological implications of HO and related enzyme systems, as well as their products, including oxidative stress response, ferroptosis, inflammation, cancer, and cellular protection. We invite researchers to submit their latest findings on HO-related topics, such as the following:
- Mechanisms of HO-1 and HO-2 regulation and expression, as well as enzyme activities;
- HO's role in cellular defence mechanisms against oxidative stress;
- Therapeutic potential of HO modulation in diseases like cardiovascular, neurodegenerative, and inflammatory disorders;
- HO’s involvement in immune response and cancer biology;
- The role of HO in ferroptosis and its implications for disease treatment;
- Biological effects of HO-derived products: biliverdin, bilirubin, and carbon monoxide (CO);
- The antioxidative and antiinflammatory role of biliverdin and bilirubin, including its functions in the lipid metabolism;
- Signalling functions of CO and other biatomic gases (such as nitric oxide) involving heme proteins, and their potential therapeutic application.
This issue invites researchers to submit research reports or results of clinical trials and welcomes contributions describing new methodological approaches, or model systems, including animal models for studying therapeutic approaches, as well as reviews aiming at sharing new insights for advancing our understanding of HO's integration into physiological and pathological processes in health and disease.
Dr. J. Catharina Duvigneau
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. Antioxidants is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). 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
- enzyme activity
- ferroptosis
- carbon monoxide
- oxidative stress
- reactive oxygen and nitrogen species
- heme proteins
- heme degradation
- heme responsive elements
- heme regulation
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.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
