Epigenetic Regulation of Cell Fate

Dear Colleagues,

Activation of specific genes in mammalian cells can trigger a change in cellular identity and underlies many physiological and pathological processes. For example, changes in the gene expression program of stem and progenitor cells can initiate their differentiation into more specialized cell types and hence play an essential role in embryonic development, adult tissue homeostasis, and organ regeneration. These transcriptional changes and the levels of the corresponding gene products are regulated through different epigenetic instructional mechanisms. These include histone modifications, DNA methylation, chromatin accessibility, RNA and protein modifications, and the interaction of various factors, including different regulatory elements, transcription factors, epigenetic regulators, long non-coding RNAs, and microRNAs. However, the epigenetic mechanisms underlying cell fate decisions remain largely unexplored.

This Special Issue invites researchers to contribute original research and review articles discussing the epigenetic control of various cellular conversions (e.g., physiological, pathological, and artificial), advances in technological development for understanding epigenetic control mechanisms, and epigenetic-based strategies to restore normal cellular function.

Dr. Anja Knaupp
Dr. Xiaodong (Ethan) Liu
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 short 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-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Genes 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 2600 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.