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Intercellular Communication in Health and Disease

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Pathology, Diagnostics, and Therapeutics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2019) | Viewed by 10760

Special Issue Editor

Department of Pathology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI 48201, USA
Interests: Intercellular communication; Cancer; Ephrins; Connexins; Apoptosis; Autophagy; Intracellular trafficking; Receptor tyrosine kinases
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Cell–cell communication is at the core of tissue homeostasis during organism development. It is a central determinant of virtually every biological function. Cells not only exchange signaling molecules, they also engage in a corps-a-corps direct contact between their respective cytoplasmic membranes via large numbers of molecules and structural devices. Whether temporarily, as part of a developmental process, or more stably within established and less-remodeling-prone tissues, the need for cells to not only “hear” from far away cells, but also to “touch and feel” their immediate neighbors, is a vital one.

In this Special Issue, we will focus on direct cell–cell communications, involving membrane-based interactions between cells, whether via various types of junctions (gap, tight, adherens, etc.), exosomes and other vesicular structures, tunneling nanotubes, or proteins such as Ephrins, Semaphorins, etc. which function principally through membrane-to-membrane contacts.

With this general description in mind, I am pleased to invite manuscripts related to intercellular communication in either normal processes and functions or pathological conditions. Therapeutic approaches targeting these mechanisms are also within the scope of this issue.

Dr. Mustapha Kandouz
Guest Editor

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

  • cell–cell communication
  • gap junctions
  • tight junctions
  • adherens junctions
  • desmosomes
  • exosomes
  • extracellular vesicles
  • tunneling nanotubes
  • intercellular bridges
  • ephrins
  • connexins
  • pannexins
  • cadherins

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Review

27 pages, 2796 KiB  
Review
Notch Transduction in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
by Amnah Sharif, Ann Shaji, May Chammaa, Eileen Pawlik and Rodrigo Fernandez-Valdivia
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2020, 21(16), 5691; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21165691 - 08 Aug 2020
Cited by 21 | Viewed by 5895
Abstract
The evolutionarily-conserved Notch signaling pathway plays critical roles in cell communication, function and homeostasis equilibrium. The pathway serves as a cell-to-cell juxtaposed molecular transducer and is crucial in a number of cell processes including cell fate specification, asymmetric cell division and lateral inhibition. [...] Read more.
The evolutionarily-conserved Notch signaling pathway plays critical roles in cell communication, function and homeostasis equilibrium. The pathway serves as a cell-to-cell juxtaposed molecular transducer and is crucial in a number of cell processes including cell fate specification, asymmetric cell division and lateral inhibition. Notch also plays critical roles in organismal development, homeostasis, and regeneration, including somitogenesis, left-right asymmetry, neurogenesis, tissue repair, self-renewal and stemness, and its dysregulation has causative roles in a number of congenital and acquired pathologies, including cancer. In the lung, Notch activity is necessary for cell fate specification and expansion, and its aberrant activity is markedly linked to various defects in club cell formation, alveologenesis, and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) development. In this review, we focus on the role this intercellular signaling device plays during lung development and on its functional relevance in proximo-distal cell fate specification, branching morphogenesis, and alveolar cell determination and maturation, then revise its involvement in NSCLC formation, progression and treatment refractoriness, particularly in the context of various mutational statuses associated with NSCLC, and, lastly, conclude by providing a succinct outlook of the therapeutic perspectives of Notch targeting in NSCLC therapy, including an overview on prospective synthetic lethality approaches. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Intercellular Communication in Health and Disease)
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17 pages, 275 KiB  
Review
Crucial Role of Extracellular Vesicles in Bronchial Asthma
by Tatsuya Nagano, Masahiro Katsurada, Ryota Dokuni, Daisuke Hazama, Tatsunori Kiriu, Kanoko Umezawa, Kazuyuki Kobayashi and Yoshihiro Nishimura
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2019, 20(10), 2589; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms20102589 - 27 May 2019
Cited by 29 | Viewed by 4368
Abstract
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are circulating vesicles secreted by various cell types. EVs are classified into three groups according to size, structural components, and generation process of vesicles: exosomes, microvesicles, and apoptotic bodies. Recently, EVs have been considered to be crucial for cell-to-cell communications [...] Read more.
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are circulating vesicles secreted by various cell types. EVs are classified into three groups according to size, structural components, and generation process of vesicles: exosomes, microvesicles, and apoptotic bodies. Recently, EVs have been considered to be crucial for cell-to-cell communications and homeostasis because they contain intracellular proteins and nucleic acids. Epithelial cells from mice suffering from bronchial asthma (BA) secrete more EVs and suppress inflammation-induced EV production. Moreover, microarray analyses of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid have revealed that several microRNAs are useful novel biomarkers of BA. Mesenchymal stromal cell-derived EVs are possible candidates of novel BA therapy. In this review, we highlight the biologic roles of EVs in BA and review novel EV-targeted therapy to help understanding by clinicians and biologists. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Intercellular Communication in Health and Disease)
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