Regulation and Control of Intracellular Signalling

Dear Colleagues,

Almost all aspects of cellular processes and functions are dependent on intracellular signalling initiated at the cell surface. The response of cells to signalling molecules, e.g., growth factors, is determined by their complement of expressed receptors and pathways that transduce and transmit these signals to intracellular compartments; and the enzymes, ion channels/transporters, and cytoskeletal proteins that ultimately mediate the effects of the signalling molecules. Several primary classes of signalling systems either comprise ligand-gated ion channels or consist of receptor tyrosine kinases or utilise G protein-linked signals in a multistep process, operating at different time courses from milliseconds to minutes, providing great flexibility for intercellular communication. In most cases, the initial steps in the signalling system typically generate a second messenger inside the cell, and this second messenger then activates a number of proteins, including protein kinases that modify cellular processes. Intracellular signal transduction may target transcription factors that function to regulate gene expression and connect the cell surface to the nucleus, thus determining the differentiated and functional state of cells, or in response to extracellular stimuli. Abnormalities in these pathways cause many diseases, including hypertension, cancer, diabetes, neurodegeneration and inflammation, etc. Deciphering how disruptions in signalling networks lead to disease will reveal novel drug targets and improved strategies to treat these maladies.

This Special Issue on “Regulation and Control of Intracellular Signalling” aims to curate novel advances in deciphering intracellular signalling networks for drug discovery and disease treatment. Topics include but are not limited to:

• New intracellular signalling networks that are genetically and epigenetically altered in human diseases, leading to constitutive pathway activation or suppression;
• New “-omic” technologies or high-throughput methods to reveal molecular interactions in a real and quantitative way within intracellular signalling networks;
• New compounds that selectively inhibit altered proteins that are critical for the maintenance of the transformed phenotype and which have shown unprecedented clinical activity in genetically defined subsets of diseases;
• New computational approaches towards signal transduction pathways.

Dr. Jinwei Zhang
Prof. Dr. Ke Ding
Prof. Dr. Dandan Sun
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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• cellular processes and functions
• intracellular signalling networks
• ligand-gated ion channels
• kinases
• G protein-linked signals
• signalling transduction
• computational modelling
• drug discovery