Exploring Physical Mechanisms in Inflammation Regulation

Dear Colleagues,

Inflammation is a fundamental biological process that underlies host defense, tissue repair, and immune regulation, while also contributing to the pathogenesis of numerous chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disorders, neurodegeneration, cancer, and autoimmune conditions. Although inflammation has traditionally been studied primarily from biochemical and molecular perspectives, growing evidence demonstrates that physical factors play a critical and often underappreciated role in regulating inflammatory responses across multiple biological scales.

This Special Issue, “Exploring Physical Mechanisms in Inflammation Regulation”, aims to highlight recent advances that elucidate how physical stimuli and physical properties of biological systems influence inflammatory signaling, immune cell behavior, and tissue responses. Such physical regulators include, but are not limited to, mechanical forces, electromagnetic and magnetic fields, temperature gradients, pressure, shear stress, ultrasound, light, and electrical stimulation. These factors can modulate inflammation directly, by affecting immune cell activation and signaling pathways, or indirectly, by altering tissue microenvironments, vascular function, and cellular metabolism.

At the cellular and molecular levels, physical cues are known to influence membrane dynamics, ion channel activity, mechanotransduction pathways, redox balance, and gene expression, all of which are closely linked to inflammatory regulation. At the tissue and organ levels, physical parameters such as stiffness, perfusion, oxygenation, and electromagnetic properties can shape immune cell recruitment, polarization, and resolution of inflammation. Understanding these interactions is essential for developing novel non-pharmacological or synergistic therapeutic strategies.

This Special Issue welcomes original research articles, reviews, and short communications addressing experimental, theoretical, and computational aspects of physical regulation of inflammation. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Mechanobiology and inflammation;
• Magnetic, electromagnetic, and electric field effects on immune responses;
• Thermal, pressure-related, and hypoxic regulation of inflammatory processes;
• Physical modulation of ion channels and signaling pathways involved in inflammation;
• Biophysical and imaging approaches for monitoring inflammation;
• Physical therapies targeting inflammatory diseases;
• Optical effects on regulation of inflammatory processes;
• Low-temperature air plasma.

By bringing together contributions from physics, biology, medicine, and bioengineering, this Special Issue aims to foster an interdisciplinary understanding of inflammation as a process governed not only by biochemical mediators but also by fundamental physical principles, ultimately advancing both basic knowledge and translational applications.

Dr. Christine Nardini
Dr. Vitalii Zablotskii
Guest Editors

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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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. Biomolecules 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 2700 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.

• physical stimuli
• transduction
• magnetic field
• electric field
• magnetotherapy
• laser therapy