Cellular Glycosphingolipids in Human Disease

Dear Colleagues,

Within the mammalian plasma membrane, there is a large family of structurally and functionally diverse lipids called glycosphingolipids. These ubiquitous amphiphilic molecules include mono- and poly-glycosylated ceramides, including gangliosides, globosides, sulfatides, neolactosides, and others. Glycosphingolipids have been associated with a remarkable array of diverse biological processes, including cell growth, adhesion, differentiation, motility, which can significantly exacerbate cancer malignancy and are associated with poor outcomes. Glycosphingolipids are also known modulators of receptor tyrosine kinases and membrane embedded proteins, and are thus key players in the modulation of signal transduction pathways that can regulate cell growth and determine cell fate. In human cancers, they have been associated with increased proliferation, tumorigenesis, the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, metastasis, the development of chemoresistance, and responses to chemotherapy and immunotherapy. This special issue of Cells contains original research and review that further examines the roles that these lipids play in these and other critical processes in human cancers.   

Dr. Santiago Lima
Dr. Amanda Dickinson
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 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-anonymized 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.