Guest Editors
Dr. Gunhyuk Park
Email: gpark@kiom.re.kr
Affiliation: Herbal Medicine Resources Research Center, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, Jeollanam-do, Republic of Korea
Homepage:
Research Interests: neurodegenerative diseases, pharmacological validation, neuroinflammation and inflammasome signaling, mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress, drug repurposing, neuroprotection mechanisms, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease models
Dr. Hye-Sun Lim
Email: qp1015@kiom.re.kr
Affiliation: Herbal Medicine Resources Research Center, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, Jeollanam-do, Republic of Korea
Research Interests: AI-driven systems biology, traditional Korean medicine, neurodegenerative diseases, Alzheimer's disease modeling, multi-omics analysis, herbal medicine–gene interactions, body–brain–immune axis, transcriptomics-based target discovery
Summary
Neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, are characterized by progressive neuronal loss and complex molecular dysfunctions. Despite extensive research, effective therapeutic strategies remain limited. This Special Issue aims to provide a platform for original research and focused reviews that experimentally evaluate the pharmacological efficacy of therapeutic candidates while elucidating their underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms. Emphasis will be placed on studies that investigate how small molecules, repurposed drugs, and bioactive compounds modulate key cellular processes and signaling pathways relevant to neurodegeneration.
The Special Issue will highlight studies that bridge molecular insights and cellular phenotypes, ensuring a mechanistic understanding of therapeutic effects at the cellular level, in line with BIOCELL's focus on cell-based mechanistic research. This Special Issue also welcomes well-designed experimental studies employing natural products, herbal extracts, or fractionated bioactive preparations, provided that their pharmacological effects are rigorously validated with clear mechanistic evidence at the cellular and molecular levels.
Key Areas of Focus Include but Are Not Limited To:
Cellular Mechanisms of Neuroprotection
· Modulation of neuronal survival, apoptosis, and autophagy by pharmacological agents
· Regulation of neuroinflammatory responses in glial cells
Signal Pathway Modulation in Neurodegeneration
· Effects of therapeutic compounds on key pathways such as PI3K/Akt, MAPK, mTOR, Wnt/β-catenin, and NF-κB at the cellular level
· Mechanistic studies linking pathway modulation to functional cellular outcomes
Molecular Targets and Pharmacological Validation
· Identification and validation of novel or known molecular targets for small molecules, repurposed drugs, or natural compounds
· Studies employing standardized extracts or multi-component formulations are encouraged, as long as clear pharmacological endpoints and mechanistic evidence are provided
· Use of siRNA, CRISPR, or selective inhibitors to demonstrate target-specific effects
Cellular Models of Neurodegenerative Diseases
· Use of neuronal cell lines, primary neurons, or induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neurons to study drug effects
· Mechanistic validation in co-culture systems or organoids to assess cell–cell interactions
Drug Mechanism-of-Action Studies
· Elucidation of how therapeutic compounds affect cellular metabolism, synaptic function, protein aggregation, and oxidative stress
· Linking observed cellular phenotypes to pharmacological interventions
Integration of Animal Studies with Cellular Mechanisms
· Animal experiments that validate mechanistic findings from cell-based studies
· Emphasis on in vivo confirmation of pathways identified at the cellular level
Keywords
neurodegeneration, pharmacological validation, cellular mechanisms, signal pathways, drug targets, neuronal models, therapeutic compounds, mechanistic study, multi-component formulations
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