New Insights of Autophagy and Apoptosis in Cells
A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Biology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 December 2025 | Viewed by 225
Special Issue Editors
Interests: autophagy; apoptosis; myokines; oxidative stress; inflammation; aging
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: senescence; autophagy; nitrosative/oxidative stress; signaling pathway; aging
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Autophagy and apoptosis are essential cellular processes that maintain cellular homeostasis and respond to stressors, but their intricate interplay and roles in health and disease are still being explored. Autophagy is a catabolic process that involves the degradation and recycling of cellular components, helping cells adapt to nutrient deprivation, eliminate damaged organelles, and regulate inflammation. In contrast, apoptosis is a programmed form of cell death that eliminates damaged or dysfunctional cells to prevent malignancy and maintain tissue integrity. Recent research has revealed new insights into how these two processes are not entirely distinct but rather interconnected, with autophagy acting as a modulator of apoptosis in various cellular contexts. Under certain stress conditions, autophagy can suppress apoptosis by removing damaged organelles and proteins that might otherwise trigger cell death. However, in other scenarios, excessive or dysfunctional autophagy can promote apoptosis, especially in response to severe stressors such as DNA damage or viral infections. Furthermore, crosstalk between autophagy and apoptosis is now understood to be regulated by a variety of signaling pathways, including those involving Bcl-2 family proteins, the mTOR pathway, and the tumor suppressor p53. These findings have significant implications for understanding the pathogenesis of diseases such as cancer, neurodegenerative disorders, and cardiovascular conditions.
In this Special Issue, we will discuss the molecular mechanisms governing autophagy and apoptosis, and their interactions, to open new therapeutic avenues, including the development of drugs that modulate these pathways for disease prevention and treatment.
Dr. Mirko Pesce
Prof. Dr. Antonia Patruno
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
- autophagy
- apoptosis
- signal transduction
- cell survival
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.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
