Nutrition as a Tool for Modulating Cellular Metabolism

Dear Colleagues,

A growing number of countries worldwide have seen an increase in the prevalence of acquired metabolic syndromes over the past few decades, with obesity, diabetes, fatty liver disease, and cardiovascular disease being the most common. Furthermore, the incidence of cancer and neurodegenerative diseases continues to be high. This increasing trend is particularly noticeable in developing nations where industrialization is accompanied with dietary and lifestyle changes. Recent research has shown that nutrients and their metabolites actively regulate gene expression and cellular function, which has contributed to a growing understanding of cellular metabolism. In addition to being the building elements of biological structures and providers of energy, nutrients and their metabolites also act as powerful signaling agents, inducers and repressors of gene expression, and direct moderators of protein function.

Furthermore, researchers are always looking for new, sustainable and natural protein molecules and sources particularly from underutilized legume crops, unexploited terrestrial and aquatic weeds, agri-food industry waste, algae, fungi, and insects, the nutritional value of which is partly known but seldom explored in terms of modulatory effects on cellular metabolic pathways.

The relationship between different chemical mediators and cellular mechanisms has been better understood over time, but only via extensive research in biochemistry and molecular biology.

A fundamental tool for developing novel therapeutic approaches that are more effective and ensure a higher quality of life is an understanding of the mechanisms pertaining to the alteration of energy metabolism, the overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nitrogen species (RNS), the imbalance between cell death and proliferation, and the interaction between enzymes, transporters, and substrates.

Protein hydrolysates from different protein sources, together with bioactive peptides, exhibit antihypertensive, antioxidant, antitumor, antidiabetic and/or antimicrobial activity. Due to the beneficial properties of these foods and the high abundance of bioactive peptides and phytochemicals, the growing demand for such products is expected to pose a future challenge for the creation of “functional” foods. Consequently, investigating the effects of the presumed natural mediators of cellular metabolism, both endogenous and exogenous (extracted from plant and animal sources), as well as new foods, can reveal adjuvants or worthy substitutes for drugs in therapeutic programs for particular diseases.

This Special Issue attempts to draw greater attention from the scientific community to the significant therapeutic potential of natural substances and novel foods, particularly their safety in human health, given the unique historical context in which we find ourselves.

To aid in developing fresh and creative therapeutic methods, we invite the submission of original manuscripts and reviews that offer perspectives on the molecular interactions between known and unknown natural substances or novel foods and cellular metabolism in both health and disease.

Dr. Francesca Oppedisano
Dr. Anna Spagnoletta
Dr. Salvatore Nesci
Guest Editors

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