TGF-β Signaling in Immunity, Inflammation, Fibrosis and Cancer
A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Oncology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 November 2025 | Viewed by 2655
Special Issue Editors
2. Oncology Program, CIBEREHD, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain
Interests: TGF-beta; EGF; NADPH oxidases; NOX4; oxidative stress; epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT); liver stem cells; metabolism and liver; liver cancer; HCC; liver fibrosis; liver signaling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: HCC; CCA; tumor microenvironment; cancer therapy; biomarkers; TGF-beta
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) family plays essential roles in the regulation of different cellular processes that are essential for the homeostasis of tissues and organs. Because of the diverse and pleiotropic TGF-β functions, dysregulation of TGF-β family signaling can lead to a plethora of developmental disorders and diseases.
Due to its role in immune homeostasis, perturbations of TGF-β signaling underlies inflammatory diseases. Many chronic inflammatory diseases are marked by fibrosis, which concurs with excessive deposition of the extracellular matrix, resulting in the loss of normal function of the affected organs. The TGF-β family also plays essential roles in the initiation and progression of fibrosis, through the activation of fibroblasts towards a myofibroblast phenotype. During the early stages of tumorigenesis, TGF-β may act as a tumor suppressor by inducing cytostasis and apoptosis of preneoplastic cells. However, at later stages, when cancer cells have acquired oncogenic mutations that allow scaping from TGF-β tumor suppressor function, it becomes a tumor promoter by stimulating tumor cells to undergo epithelial–mesenchymal Transition (EMT), which increases migration and invasion. TGF-β is also central to immune suppression within the tumor microenvironment, and recent studies have revealed roles in tumor immune evasion and poor responses to cancer immunotherapy.
In this Special Issue, we invite contributions that, in the form of original articles or reviews, will help to clarify the complex role of the TGF-β family in human diseases.
Dr. Isabel Fabregat
Prof. Dr. Gianluigi Giannelli
Guest Editors
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Keywords
- TGF-beta
- fibrosis
- inflammation
- cancer
- immune cells
- fibroblasts
- EMT
- immunotherapy
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