Special Issues
Table of Content

Cellular Signal Transduction in Biological Activities

Submission Deadline: 31 December 2023 (closed) View: 155

Guest Editors

Prof. Tang Zhu
Key Laboratory of Translational Tumor Medicine in Fujian Province, School of Basic Medical Science Putian University, China
Email: birdbsl500@gmail.com

Dr. Yidong Wang
The Second Affiliated Hospital of Medical College of Zhejiang University, China
Email: wangyidong@zju.edu.cn

Dr. Sadaruddin Chachar
Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Crop Production Sindh Agriculture University, Pakistan
Email: schachar@sau.edu.pk

Summary

Cell signal is the core to control cell activity. Cells must adjust their own activities to adapte to the environment. These requirements are always changing, involving all of the process of growth and development, aging, disease resistance, etc. throughout life. These self-regulation responses of cells to meet the needs is to start the molecular target program of cell response through the receptor's perception of the environment and activation of signal pathways. Interestingly, the number of the receptors expressed by a single cell is far less than the amount of signal transduction by the different environments they respond to. That is, the number of intracellular signal pathways is very limited. In fact, although activation of different receptors leads to different cellular responses, they usually activate a set of highly overlapping pathways. In order to achieve the required large number of fine tuning response signals by the limited paths, the pathways are connected in a complex interconnection network. The changeable environmental stimuli are highly diversified, complex and dynamic. Cells must be able to calculate the finely adjusted output signals from these combined and changed input signals, which not only need to adjust individual cells, but also coordinate for group cell tissues. Recent technological developments, especially single cell analysis and kinetic quantification and manipulation, have enabled us to better understand the regulation and function of cell signals in controlling cell fate.

 

Challenges

Cells regulate the specific signal pathway intensity that may be output through the changes of ligand receptor binding configuration and concentration. Thus, using the limited number of the signaling proteins, the cells can fine-tune their responses against to numerous different external signaling. The feedback/forward loop and inter channel crosstalk lead to complex signal activity patterns. Although much progress has been made, our understanding of the precise transmission of cellular signals in health and disease, the crosstalk and combination of pathways, and how these signals encode specific fate changes is still limited. Signal transduction is the core regulator of cell fate selection, and comprehensive understanding also provides potential for developing drugs to improve therapeutic practices.

 

Aims of Special Issue

The establishment of this special issue will provide an academic communication platform for the cell signal transduction research, which will encourage more and more clinicians and basic researchers to participate in more in-depth exploration of the mechanism of cell signal transduction.


Proposal Topics

1. Cell functional signal transduction pathways, including but not limited to inflammation, cell death, cell proliferation, immune regulation and other signal pathways.

2. Cell signaling factors, including but not limited to NF-kB, JAK/STAT, AKT, p38, MEK, MAPK, WNT, PKA, AKAP, IKK, TAK, G proteins, calcium signaling, cAMP, GDP, GTP, etc.

3. Signal pathway regulative factor, includes small molecules or peptides.

4. Novel technical methods for signal transduction research.

5. Research on physiological and pathological signal pathways.

6. Drug development related to cell signaling pathway.


Keywords

cell signaling; cell; signal transduction; signal pathways

Published Papers


  • Open Access

    REVIEW

    HIFs in hypoxic regulation of the extracellular matrix: focus on little-known player HIF-3

    ALEKSANDRA GORNOSTAEVA, LUDMILA BURAVKOVA, MARGARITA LOBANOVA, ELENA ANDREEVA
    BIOCELL, Vol.48, No.5, pp. 677-692, 2024, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2024.048873
    (This article belongs to the Special Issue: Cellular Signal Transduction in Biological Activities)
    Abstract The structural and associated molecules of the extracellular matrix (ECM) complex is an important component of the local milieu of cells, both for maintaining their functions and homeostasis. It is a dynamic structure that is finely tuned to changes in the microenvironment. One of these factors is hypoxia, which can arise in tissues due to physiological or pathological effects. As a result of the hypoxic effect, the properties of the ECM are significantly modified, stiffness increases, the balance between degradation and synthesis of structural proteins shifts, and the deposition of biologically active mediators’ changes. Hypoxia-inducible… More >

  • Open Access

    ARTICLE

    Smad8 is involvement in follicular development via the regulation of granulosa cell growth and steroidogenesis in mice

    DAOLUN YU, DEYONG SHE, KAI GE, LEI YANG, RUINA ZHAN, SHAN LU, YAFEI CAI
    BIOCELL, Vol.48, No.1, pp. 139-147, 2024, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.045884
    (This article belongs to the Special Issue: Cellular Signal Transduction in Biological Activities)
    Abstract Background: SMAD family proteins (SMADs) are crucial transcription factors downstream of transforming growth factor beta (TGF-ß)/SMAD signaling pathways that have been reported to play a pivotal role in mammalian reproduction. However, the role of SMAD family member 8 (SMAD8, also known as SMAD9), a member of the SMAD family, in mammalian reproduction remains unclear. Methods: We employed RNA interference techniques to knock down Smad8 expression in mouse granulosa cells (GCs) to investigate the effects of Smad8 on GC growth and steroidogenesis. Results: Our findings revealed a significant decrease in the proliferative capacity and a substantial increase in… More >

  • Open Access

    ARTICLE

    NR4A1 enhances glycolysis in hypoxia-exposed pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells by upregulating HIF-1α expression

    CHENYANG CHEN, JUAN WEN, WEI HUANG, JIANG LI
    BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.11, pp. 2423-2433, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.044459
    (This article belongs to the Special Issue: Cellular Signal Transduction in Biological Activities)
    Abstract Background: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a chronic and progressive disease that is strongly associated with dysregulation of glucose metabolism. Alterations in nuclear receptor subfamily 4 group A member 1 (NR4A1) activity alter the outcome of PAH. This study aimed to investigate the effects of NR4A1 on glycolysis in PAH and its underlying mechanisms. Methods: This study included twenty healthy volunteers and twenty-three PAH patients, and plasma samples were collected from the participants. To mimic the conditions of PAH in vitro, a hypoxia-induced model of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cell (PASMC) model was established. The proliferation… More >

    Graphic Abstract

    NR4A1 enhances glycolysis in hypoxia-exposed pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells by upregulating HIF-1α expression

  • Open Access

    ARTICLE

    MED4 gene positively affects preadipocyte differentiation in Chinese red steppe cattle

    MINGHONG WEI, CHENG XIAO, JIAN WU, LIHONG QIN, HONGLIANG LIU, YANG CAO, YUMIN ZHAO
    BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.9, pp. 2115-2123, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.030364
    (This article belongs to the Special Issue: Cellular Signal Transduction in Biological Activities)
    Abstract Background: The regulatory genes related to lipid metabolism affect the intramuscular fat (IMF) content and improve meat quality traits. Mediator Complex Subunit 4 (MED4), a vitamin D receptor protein, affects vitamin D, livestock growth, carcass traits, and triglyceride deposition. However, the physiological function of the MED4 gene on bovine adipocyte differentiation remains unknown. Methods: This study explored the function of the MED4 gene in preadipocyte differentiation in Chinese Red Steppe cattle. The overexpression plasmid and the interference sequences of the MED4 gene were constructed to detect the effects of the MED4 gene on adipogenesis and biomakers using More >

  • Open Access

    REVIEW

    The effects of hormone-mediated PI3K/AKT signaling on spermatogenesis in Sertoli cells

    YANSHUANG ZHAO, WANXI YANG
    BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.8, pp. 1709-1725, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.030379
    (This article belongs to the Special Issue: Cellular Signal Transduction in Biological Activities)
    Abstract The phosphoinositide-3-kinase/Akt (PI3K/AKT) signaling pathway is crucial for Sertoli cell development and completing spermatogenesis. Its main role is to promote proliferation and inhibit apoptosis. Many factors activate the PI3K/AKT pathway, like hormones, such as follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), androgen, estrogen, insulin to name a few. Many of these factors have receptors inside or on the surface of Sertoli cells (SCs). This review summarizes how these hormones directly regulate the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway in SCs, which in turn affects SC proliferation and differentiation. Further, hormone-mediated PI3K/AKT signaling also stimulates SC secretion, which is essential for germ More >

  • Open Access

    ARTICLE

    Flavonoids in safflower extract reduce cisplatin-induced damage to human follicle dermal papilla cells by inhibiting DNA damage and Rad17/Chk1/Cdc25C signaling

    FU-MING TSAI, PING-HSUN LU, LU-KAI WANG, CHAN-YEN KUO, MAO-LIANG CHEN, CHUN-HUA WANG
    BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.8, pp. 1793-1802, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.030093
    (This article belongs to the Special Issue: Cellular Signal Transduction in Biological Activities)
    Abstract Background: Cisplatin is a chemotherapeutic agent commonly used clinically for the treatment of various human cancers. Patients often reduce the use of cisplatin due to its side effects, which in turn affects its treatment. This study explored the mechanism of action of safflower extract as an adjuvant traditional Chinese medicine for chemotherapy. Methods: Primary human follicle dermal papilla cells (HFDPCs) were used as target cells for cisplatin-induced damage to hair cells. Western blotting was used to investigate the molecular targets of cisplatin and safflower extract in causing HFDPCs damage. Cell survival and cell cycle were… More >

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