Dear Colleagues,

One of the hallmarks of eukaryotic cells, compared to prokaryotes, is that they are not only enclosed by the plasma membrane, which physically separates them from extracellular space but also further compartmentalized by intracellular membranes. The resulting intracellular compartments, termed organelles, comprise unique chemical components, thereby each performing distinct functions. The membrane enclosing organelles functions as a barrier that ensures their unique chemical environments, yet communications between organelles are essential for cell survival at the same time. To solve this dilemma, eukaryotic cells have devised various strategies for intracellular logistics. Among those is vesicular transport, which employs a small membrane-enclosed sack termed a vesicle. Vesicular transport has been believed to be a major route for intracellular logistics, and intensive studies have been done over the past four decades. Yet, it seems clear now that a variety of vesicle-independent pathways account for considerable amounts of the tasks that intracellular logistics performs. For instance, endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-mediated membrane contact sites (MCSs) have been recently reported to serve as important means of intracellular logistics of lipids and ions. In addition, specialized types of autophagy-like pathways are also known to transport various materials from one part of a cell to another. This Special Issue will provide a current understanding of vesicle-independent intracellular logistics and conceptual advances in this research field.

Dr. Youngsoo Jun
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.

• intracellular logistics
• organelle dynamics
• membrane contact site
• autophagy
• endoplasmic reticulum
• vesicle