Molecular and Cellular Factors Regulating Signal Transduction, Diseases, and Stem Cells

Dear Colleagues,

An upsurge of knowledge on the molecular and cellular mechanisms that mediate cancer and other diseases has been reported in recent years. Although several diseases, including cancer, have been identified as occurring for over a million years, the search for effective treatment for most of the diseases that target the molecular and cellular pathways has not been successful. Several cellular targets have been investigated for the treatment of human diseases, including transcription factors, epigenetic targeting of oncogenes and tumor suppressors, and post-translational regulators. Understanding how the molecular mechanism of certain genes causes diseases, including the transformation from normal cells to cancer cells, is very essential.

On another note, there are several transcriptional factors which determine the stem cell’s fate. Among them, post-translational modification by ubiquitin molecules is a key regulatory process for the determination of a stem cell’s fate. Ubiquitination and deubiquitination are the major cellular processes used to balance the protein turnover of several transcription factors that regulate stem cell differentiation. The ubiquitination level of proteins is determined by the balance of E3 ubiquitin ligases and DUBs, which determine protein stability. The ubiquitination and deubiquitination molecular switches must operate in a balanced manner to control the ubiquitin pool, and maintain protein homeostasis and cellular functions. The actions of E3 ligases and DUBs are associated with the development and progress of tumorigenesis by modifying key proteins that regulate the cell cycle, gene transcription, DNA repair, and apoptosis. Similarly, ubiquitination and deubiquitination, which regulate the protein turnover of several stemness-related proteins, must be carefully coordinated to ensure optimal embryonic stem cell maintenance and differentiation.

 

This Special Issue welcomes both original papers and review articles addressing one or more of the above issues, or any of the topics mentioned in the key words below.

Dr. Suresh Ramakrishna
Guest Editor

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