Focus on Exosome-Based Cell-Cell Communication in Health and Disease

Dear Colleagues,

Over the last few years, a new and sophisticated mechanism of cell–cell communication, based on exosomes, has been described.

Exosomes are specialized vesicles of endosomal origin, released in the extracellular space by most cell types under physiological and pathological conditions. It has been widely described that these vesicles contain mRNAs, microRNAs, long non-coding RNAs, lipids, and proteins and that they can deliver these molecules among different cell types, thus affecting the phenotype of target cells.

Several studies have highlighted the role of exosomes in modulating cancer development and metastatic niche formation as well as in contributing to neurological, cardiological and rheumatological diseases. Due to their specific cell tropism, a peculiar property of these vesicles is the possibility of being engineered in order to modify their content, through the introduction of siRNAs, shRNAs, proteins, and drugs.

This Special Issue will discuss the recent advances in the field of exosomes as messengers of intercellular communication in both physiological and pathological conditions, pointing out the potential use of these nanovesicles for the delivery of therapeutic agents.

Prof. Dr. Riccardo Alessandro
Dr. Aurelio Lorico
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.