cimb-logo

Journal Browser

Journal Browser

Molecules at Play in Cardiovascular Diseases

A special issue of Current Issues in Molecular Biology (ISSN 1467-3045). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Medicine".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2025 | Viewed by 311

Special Issue Editor


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Personalized Genomics Laboratory, Undergraduate Medical Academy, Prairie View A&M University, Prairie View, TX 77446, USA
Interests: cancer therapy; cancer biomarker; neurogenomics; systems biology; intercellular communication; neurotransmission
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), a large group of heart and blood vessel afflictions, are the leading causes of one in three deaths worldwide. Although CVDs have been intensively studied in humans and animal models, their underlying molecular bases are still not fully understood. It has now become clear that the circulatory system is a multidimensional mosaic of interacting, partially overlapping molecular processes, whose organizational principles are race/strain-, age, sex- and sex hormone-dependent and can be altered by diet, stress and other external stimuli. Moreover, the circulatory system directly interacts with all other systems of the human body, and, therefore, any CVD affects several organs.

In this Special Issue, we will provide the reader with updated experimental and theoretical developments that explore, analyze, and interpret data resulting from varied molecular studies. The contributing papers will present the remodeling of functional pathways at the molecular level in severe CVDs and their restoration following targeted therapies.

Prof. Dr. Dumitru A. Iacobas
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. Current Issues in Molecular Biology 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 2200 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

  • arrythmias
  • arteriosclerosis
  • congenital heart disease
  • coronary disease
  • diabetic cardiomyopathy
  • dilated cardiomyopathy
  • endocarditis
  • high blood pressure
  • hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
  • valvular heart diseases

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

15 pages, 13730 KiB  
Article
IGFBP5 Promotes Atherosclerosis in APOE−/− Mice Through Phenotypic Transformation of VSMCs
by Aoqi Xiang, Hua Guan, Peihong Su, Lusha Zhang, Xiaochang Chen and Qi Yu
Curr. Issues Mol. Biol. 2025, 47(7), 555; https://doi.org/10.3390/cimb47070555 - 17 Jul 2025
Viewed by 214
Abstract
Atherosclerosis constitutes a pathological process underlying cardiovascular diseases. There is growing evidence that IGFBP5 is a causative factor, although the conclusions of different studies are inconsistent. The present study aims to confirm the role and mechanism of IGFBP5 in atherosclerosis. The expression of [...] Read more.
Atherosclerosis constitutes a pathological process underlying cardiovascular diseases. There is growing evidence that IGFBP5 is a causative factor, although the conclusions of different studies are inconsistent. The present study aims to confirm the role and mechanism of IGFBP5 in atherosclerosis. The expression of IGFBP5 was induced in the skeletal muscle of male ApoE−/− mice, an atherosclerosis model, using adeno-associated virus, resulting in elevated circulating IGFBP5 levels. Changes in blood lipids were detected, and pathological changes in the aorta were observed. Analysis of IGFBP5 function using RNA sequencing and validation were performed in a mouse aortic smooth muscle cell line. The results demonstrated that IGFBP5 overexpression exacerbated the development of aortic lesions in this murine models without any discernible alterations in lipid profile parameters; the arterial transcriptomic landscape revealed that heightened IGFBP5 levels predominantly influenced pathways governing smooth muscle cell proliferation and motility. In vitro experimentation corroborated these findings, showcasing the stimulatory effect of IGFBP5 on VSMC (vascular smooth muscle cell) proliferation and migration, provoking a transition toward a proliferative phenotype. IGFBP5 promotes atherosclerosis in ApoE−/− mice through the phenotypic transformation of VSMCs. This finding suggests that IGFBP5 has the potential to serve as an indicator of atherosclerosis diagnosis and a target for therapeutic interventions in the future. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecules at Play in Cardiovascular Diseases)
Show Figures

Graphical abstract

Back to TopTop