Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms in Neurodevelopmental Disorders and Brain Tumors

Dear Colleague,

The correct morphofunctional shaping and function of the central nervous system (CNS) requires a continuous interaction between intrinsic (genes/molecules expressed within the tissue) and extrinsic (e.g., neural activity) factors at all developmental stages including the adulthoods. Any significant deviation from the normal CNS functions due to social deprivation, environmental factors, genetic and metabolic diseases, immune disorders, infectious diseases or nutritional factors results in abnormal neuronal architecture or connectivity. In this scenario, stem cell self-renewal and differentiation play an important role not only in normal neurodevelopment, but also in brain tumours’ establishment. An example are the stem cells, considered responsible of sustaining tumour growth. These cells emphasized the importance of understanding the cellular dynamics and the molecular pathways regulating neural cell fate. In this Research Topic, we aim at providing a collection of high-impact papers dissecting which cellular and molecular mechanisms are involved into the onset of brain tumour and neurodevelopmental disorders. Accordingly, Original Research or Review articles describing which signalling or specific treatment influence physiologic functions such as neuronal development and CNS tumours will be considered.

Prof. Dr. Mario Costa
Guest Editors
Dr. Eleonora Vannini
Co-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. 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.