The Nrf2 Pathway: Regulation, Functions, and Potential Applications

Dear colleagues,

The Nrf2 pathway, a master regulator of redox homeostasis discovered in the mid 1990s, is an integrated cellular response for electrophiles and thiol reactive compounds (e.g., ROS, RNS, heavy metals). In addition to its activation by environmental electrophiles such as quinones, diverse mechanisms of Nrf2 activation have been reported, namely, endogenous electrophiles, glucose metabolism, phosphorylation, and miRNAs. The Nrf2 pathway has a wide variety of functions, such as defense against oxidative stress and electrophilic toxicity, carcinogenesis protection, tumorigenesis, anti-inflammation, stem cells regulation, anti-aging, reducing mechanical stress and organelle stress (autophagy, endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria), protection against brain and skin injuries, and so forth. At present, drug discovery targeting the Nrf2 pathway has been explored extensively, since dysregulation of the Nrf2 pathway leads to a number of human diseases and disorders, including cancer, diabetes, atherosclerosis, and neurodegeneration.

In this Special Issue, we widely recruit original articles that describe new discoveries in the Nrf2 pathway in any relevant topics, such as physiological functions, gene regulation, activation mechanism, drug discovery, evolution, human diseases, protein structure, and genome. We also welcome review articles and commentaries.

Prof. Makoto Kobayashi
Prof. Ken Itoh
Prof. Dr. Andreas von Knethen
Prof. Mi-Kyoung Kwak
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.