Nucleolus, Nucleolar Stress, and Ribosome Biogenesis in the Nervous System
A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Neurobiology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 December 2024 | Viewed by 31
Special Issue Editor
2. Biomedical Research Institute, Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas, 45500 Ioannina, Greece
Interests: molecular biology; programmed cell death; neurogenesis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
To cope with the continuous demand for protein synthesis and the need for a highly dynamic and fast adaptation to the constant environmental challenges, the eukaryotic cell has evolved a dedicated machinery to transcribe and process the ribosomal RNA (rRNA) and to assemble the ribosomes efficiently. This highly complex and energy-intensive activity occurs in the nucleolus, a membrane-free compartment of the nucleus, assembled around the tandemly arrayed DNA sequences encoding for the ribosomal RNAs, which are transcribed by RNA polymerase I.
The nucleolus is increasingly recognized as a convergence point of multiple signaling cascades that allow the cell to sense and respond promptly to various intrinsic and extrinsic stressors, requiring fine-tuning ribosome production and protein synthesis. It is therefore not surprising that ribosome biogenesis (also known as RiBi) is tightly controlled by the coordinated action of environmental signals and key developmental pathways. Disruption of any step involved in RiBi leads to a condition known as nucleolar stress, an alarming cellular state that triggers various response mechanisms to maintain cell homeostasis. Nucleolar stress can be induced by many stimuli, including metabolic suppression, DNA damage, replication stress, proteotoxicity, heat shock, and oxidative stress, among others. In the nervous system, RiBi is critical for neural stem cell proliferation and renewal as well as for axon maintenance, dendritic growth, and synaptic function. Mounting evidence indicates that nucleolar stress is involved in many neurodevelopmental abnormalities and neurodegenerative diseases.
The purpose of this Special Issue is to present the latest research on the molecular mechanisms that orchestrate ribosomal biogenesis in the neuronal milieu and how nucleolar dysfunction, including impairments of non-ribosomal nucleolar functions, can lead to pathological processes in the developing and adult nervous systems. Both original research articles and comprehensive reviews are welcome.
Dr. Theologos Michaelidis
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
- nucleolus
- nucleolar stress
- nucleolar homeostasis
- polymerase I
- rDNA transcription
- ribosome biogenesis
- translation
- ribosomopathies
- apoptosis
- autophagy
- senescence
- neurodegeneration
- tumorigenesis
