Neurodegenerative Diseases and Related Proteins

Dear Colleagues,

Proteins such as amyloid-β, tau, α-synuclein, TDP-43, huntingtin, and others play central roles in the onset and progression of neurodegenerative diseases. Aberrant conformational changes, disrupted cellular quality control systems, and pathological seeding of misfolded species collectively compromise neuronal homeostasis, leading to synaptic dysfunction, neuroinflammation, and cell death. Recent advances in high-resolution structural biology, single-cell omics, and in vitro/in vivo model systems have begun to unravel the complex interplay between proteostasis networks and neurodegeneration. This Special Issue will showcase studies that dissect these pathways at the molecular level, explore how genetic and environmental factors modulate protein toxicity, and evaluate novel compounds or gene-based therapies aimed at restoring protein homeostasis. By curating a comprehensive collection of articles, we aim to provide researchers and clinicians with a state-of-the-art reference that bridges fundamental discoveries and therapeutic innovation.

Aim & Scope

This Special Issue aims to bring together innovative research on the molecular, cellular, and systemic functions of proteins associated with neurodegenerative diseases. We encourage original articles, reviews, and perspectives that highlight how misfolded, aggregated, or dysfunctional proteins contribute to the pathogenesis of diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Huntington’s disease, frontotemporal dementia, and related disorders. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Protein misfolding, aggregation, and propagation;
• Post-translational modifications and proteostasis;
• Mitochondrial dysfunction and ER–mitochondria crosstalk;
• Autophagy, mitophagy, and selective protein clearance;
• Proteomic and multi-omics approaches to biomarker discovery;
• Protein–protein interactions and structural biology;
• Genetic and epigenetic regulation of disease-related proteins;
• Novel therapeutic strategies targeting proteopathic cascades.

By fostering interdisciplinary contributions—from basic mechanistic studies to translational and clinical research—this issue aims to accelerate our understanding of proteopathic mechanisms and identify new avenues for intervention.

Dr. Tian Liu
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. Cells is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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.

• protein misfolding and aggregation
• proteostasis and quality control
• neuroinflammation
• autophagy and mitophagy
• molecular chaperones
• Amyloid-β and tau
• α-synuclein and TDP-43
• multi-omics biomarkers
• structural biology
• therapeutic targets
• mitochondrial–ER crosstalk
• genetic and epigenetic regulation