Cellular Stress Responses in Early Embryonic and Stem Cell Development
A special issue of Cells (ISSN 2073-4409). This special issue belongs to the section "Stem Cells".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2026 | Viewed by 194
Special Issue Editor
2. Reproductive Stress, Inc., Grosse Pointe Farms, MI, USA
Interests: reproductive biology; embryonic stem cells; embryo toxicology; stress protein kinases; stress transcriptomes; trophoblast stem cells; oocytes; miscarriage markers; IVF
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Early mammalian development is uniquely vulnerable to environmental, metabolic, inflammatory, oxidative, hypoxic, osmotic, and hormonal stressors because rapid proliferation and lineage decisions occur on a tight schedule. Even transient stress can shift developmental trajectories, alter trophoblast invasion and placental establishment, and reduce embryo viability—outcomes with implications in natural conception, assisted reproduction (IVF), and developmental toxicology. This Special Issue will showcase mechanistic and translational studies defining how stress sensing and response programs (e.g., kinase networks, unfolded protein response/integrated stress response, developmentally associated stress response, oxidative stress defenses, mitochondrial and metabolic checkpoints, epigenetic and transcriptomic remodeling) influence peri-implantation embryos, gastrulation-stage lineages, and stem-cell-based embryo models. We particularly encourage submissions using trophoblast/placental models (human EVT, trophoblast stem cells, organoids), naïve/primed pluripotent stem cells and embryoids/blastoids/gastroids, and high-throughput screening platforms for stress reduction or hazard identification. Topics of interest include single-cell and bulk multi-omics, live imaging, biomarker discovery (including non-invasive sampling), comparative human–mouse analysis, and interventions (small molecules/media optimization) that improve developmental embryonic and placental competence and function.
Dr. Daniel Rappolee
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- early embryonic development
- cellular stress responses
- pluripotent stem cells
- trophoblast biology
- assisted reproductive technology (ART)
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