Role and Dynamics of Extracellular Vesicles in Central Nervous System Diseases

Dear Colleagues,

A collection of manuscripts will encompass a range of topics with the common denominator of extracellular vesicles in the context of biomarkers, basic biology, and cell–cell communication as well as therapeutics. EVs are found in a wide range of biofluids, including cerebrospinal fluid, plasma, serum, and urine. They reflect the cargo of the parental cells and can inform about the tumor status in a noninvasive, real-time fashion. The bioactive molecules carried within EVs have also been shown to modulate the behavior of recipient cells in many ways. Specifically, EVs can shuttle between neurons and glia cells, likely influencing synaptic activity, morphological plasticity, and neurovasculature. In the presence of injury, EVs have been suggested to play a role in neuroprotection, while in neurodegeneration, EVs have been implicated in the spreading and clearance of toxic aggregates. Finally, several studies have proposed using EVs as a delivery tool for small molecule drugs, protein, and nucleic acid to the CNS. Characteristics of EVs such as biocompatibility, low immunogenicity, and low toxicity profiles, are make them highly valuable for therapeutic purposes.

Dr. Leonora Balaj
Dr. Annalisa Tassone
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.