Autoimmunity in the Nervous Systems: Multiple Sclerosis and Beyond 2.0
A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Neurobiology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 March 2023) | Viewed by 9002
Special Issue Editors
Interests: neurosciences; multiple sclerosis; neurodegenerative diseases; genomics, transcriptomics; neuroimaging; genotype-phenotype correlations; pharmacogenomics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: comparative immunology; immunoglobulin genes; adaptive immunity; molecular biology; biochemistry; genome evolution; engineered monoclonal antibodies
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Several cellular and molecular mechanisms—e.g., molecular mimicry, cytokine dysregulation, dendritic cell apoptosis, and defective autophagy—underlie autoimmunity, in which factors such as sex, genes, and the environment can play different roles. Since females have been reported to be affected more often by autoimmune diseases, much attention has been given to the biological analysis of the observed sex bias and its impact on immune-mediated diseases.
One of the most recognizable and studied autoimmune diseases of the central nervous system is multiple sclerosis (MS); however, several other syndromes have been recognized, depending on the target of the immunological reaction. Interestingly, sometimes, the molecular mechanisms underlying these disorders overlap due to their common pathogenic pathways. For example, conditional deletions of autophagy-related proteins seem to protect from experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (the animal model of MS) and experimental arthritis. Furthermore, single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of autophagy-related genes have been reported to be associated with susceptibility to both systemic lupus erythematosus and Crohn’s disease. In our opinion, looking into these types of interactions will also help to disentangle the complex regulation of autoimmunity, as well as providing valuable support for addressing possible novel targeted therapeutic efforts.
Following the previous Special Issue, in this new edition, we aim to broaden the current picture of autoimmunity by also considering the proven impact of gut microbiota in the immunological balance of the nervous system. Once more, particular interest will be given to novel and original data reporting significant sex differences in the autoimmune pathogenic mechanisms of the most well-known neurological diseases.
Dr. Maria Liguori
Dr. Maria Rosaria Coscia
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 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. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. 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
- molecular basis of immune mechanisms
- genetics and epigenetics of autoimmune diseases
- immune dysregulation
- sex differences of self-tolerance and other pathogenic mechanisms
- autoimmunity and neurodegeneration
- environmental modulation of immune response
- microbiome and nervous systems
- multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune diseases
- immunotherapy
- biomarkers
- computational biology
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.
- e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.