Mechanisms and Therapies of Cell Death Pathways

A special issue of Cells (ISSN 2073-4409). This special issue belongs to the section "Cellular Pathology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 October 2026 | Viewed by 1727

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
Interests: cell death; apoptosis; mitochondrial signaling; senescence; chemical biology; therapeutic development

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
Interests: cancer biology; mitochondrial signaling; apoptosis; senescence; drug resistance

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We cordially invite you to submit your work to the Special Issue “Mechanisms and Therapies of Cell Death Pathways.”

Cell death is fundamental to development and tissue homeostasis, with its dysregulation underlying diverse pathological conditions ranging from cancer to neurodegeneration. While apoptosis remains a cornerstone of programmed cell death, the expanding landscape of non-apoptotic death mechanisms, including necroptosis, ferroptosis, pyroptosis, and autophagy-dependent cell death, offers unprecedented opportunities for therapeutic intervention. This Special Issue aims to explore mechanisms of and comprehensive strategies targeting both apoptotic and non-apoptotic pathways in disease contexts.

We particularly welcome contributions examining small-molecule modulators and therapeutic strategies that selectively target specific death pathways. BCL-2 family proteins and their regulatory networks remain prime targets, alongside emerging players in non-apoptotic signaling cascades. Manuscripts exploring how mitochondrial networks integrate stress signals to control cell fate are also central to the scope of this issue, as we seek to advance the development of precision therapies.

We invite original research, reviews, and methodological advances covering the following:

  • Mitochondrial regulation of cell fate decisions;
  • Mechanisms and cross-talk between different cell death modalities;
  • Therapeutic targeting of apoptotic and non-apoptotic pathways in disease;
  • Small molecule modulators of cell death signaling;
  • BCL-2 family targeting strategies;
  • Overcoming therapy resistance.

Prof. Dr. Evripidis Gavathiotis
Dr. Deniz Gulfem Ozturk
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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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.

Keywords

  • cell death
  • mitochondrial regulation
  • BCL-2 family
  • non-apoptotic cell death
  • cell death pathways interactions
  • small molecules
  • therapeutic strategy
  • therapy resistance

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

25 pages, 901 KB  
Review
Non-Apoptotic Programmed Cell Death: From Ultrastructural Characterization to Emerging Therapeutic Opportunities
by Philip Steiner, Lena Wiesbauer, Hubert H. Kerschbaum and Susanna Zierler
Cells 2026, 15(2), 111; https://doi.org/10.3390/cells15020111 - 8 Jan 2026
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1451
Abstract
Distinct forms of non-apoptotic programmed cell death (PCD) play a central role in human and animal health and their signaling cascades provide pharmacological targets for therapeutic interventions. Non-apoptotic modalities of programmed cell death include well characterized forms, such as ferroptosis, necroptosis, pyroptosis, autophagy, [...] Read more.
Distinct forms of non-apoptotic programmed cell death (PCD) play a central role in human and animal health and their signaling cascades provide pharmacological targets for therapeutic interventions. Non-apoptotic modalities of programmed cell death include well characterized forms, such as ferroptosis, necroptosis, pyroptosis, autophagy, paraptosis, as well as newly characterized varieties, such as cuproptosis, disulfidptosis, and erebosis. Each pathway exhibits unique molecular signaling signatures, ultrastructural characteristics, and functional outcomes that distinguish them from classical apoptosis. While pharmacological targets in the signaling cascade are promising objectives for overcoming apoptosis resistance in cancer therapy, inhibition of cell death in the myocardium or nervous system is critical for cytoprotection. This review provides detailed characterization and schematic visualization of cellular and subcellular hallmarks for each non-apoptotic PCD modality, facilitating their morphological identification. Understanding these diverse pathways is crucial for developing innovative therapeutic interventions in cancer, neurodegeneration, and inflammatory diseases. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mechanisms and Therapies of Cell Death Pathways)
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