The Role of Glial Cells in the Neuro-Vascular Unit in Health and Disease
A special issue of Brain Sciences (ISSN 2076-3425). This special issue belongs to the section "Neuroglia".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 December 2024 | Viewed by 1852
Special Issue Editors
Interests: blood–brain barrier; vitamin D; cadmium toxicity; cannabidiol; neuroprotection
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: neuropathic pain; blood–brain barrier; cadmium toxicity; neuroprotection
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
We are delighted to announce this Special Issue, titled “The Role of Glial Cells in the Neuro-vascular Unit in Health and Disease”, of Brain Sciences.
Nowadays, the pathologies affecting the central nervous system are deleterious constants mainly due to the longer life expectancy of modern humans.
Glial cells play a pivotal role within the central nervous system, even though for decades they came second to neurons as a research object. The term “glia” includes three main different types of cells: astrocytes, microglia, and oligodendrocytes. While our primary understanding of glial cells encompassed a trophic and support role, over the years, our knowledge of other functions has increased dramatically, both contributing to knowledge on the physiological function of the central nervous system and many processes associated with brain pathologies, including acute or chronic damage. The plasticity of glia is widely known, which could be due to the interactive position of glial cells within the neuro-vascular unit between brain endothelial cells and neurons. This active interconnection is able to trigger detrimental events that can occur within the CNS but also ameliorate and prevent deleterious effects in order to restore the brain homeostasis. For these reasons, our understanding of the role of glial cells is still incomplete and fragmented; indeed, whether CNS damage is triggered by glial activation or brain impairments that induce glial activation is still unclear, thus complicating the pathology.
This Special Issue of Brain Sciences aims to collect the most significant advances in understanding NVU glial cells’ function and interplay within the central nervous system both during normal and pathological conditions. Original research articles and comprehensive reviews are welcome.
Dr. Jacopo Junio Valerio Branca
Prof. Dr. Alessandra Pacini
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 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. Brain Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). 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
- glial cells
- astrocytes
- microglia
- oligodendrocytes
- neuro-vascular unit
- central nervous system
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.
