Endogenous Opioids in Stem Cell Development, Stress, and Aging
A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Pharmacology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2022) | Viewed by 3172
Special Issue Editors
Interests: human mesenchymal stem cells; physical energies; regenerative medicine
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: human mesenchymal stem cells; cell senescence; cell biology; cell differentiation
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
After the medical use for thousands of years of the natural opiates for the relief of pain and sedation, the search for endogenous ligands for the same receptors led to the discovery of the first two related pentapeptides (enkephalins) in 1975. Subsequently, a plethora of other endogenous opioid peptides were identified, including the four major families of endogenous opioid ligands: β-endorphins, enkephalins, dynorphins, and nociceptin/orphanin FQ.
The endogenous opioid system has received considerable attention and extensive research primarily for its effects on pain, pleasure, and reward. Additionally, endogenous opioids have been shown to play a vital role in regulating numerous physiologic functions such as euphoria induction, stress resilience, cardiovascular protection, food intake control, and many others.
The role of endogenous opioids in stem cell biology has also been investigated, although not as extensively.
Nevertheless, there is increasing evidence that endogenous opioids play a multifaceted role in cellular adaptive mechanisms, including stress response, cell survival, cell protection, inflammation, apoptosis and differentiation. Given these diversified roles of endogenous opioids, and the relevance of stem cells in self-healing processes and regenerative medicine, this Special Issue aims to provide a platform for a deeper understanding of the function of endogenous opioids in stem cell patterning, particularly during cell development, aging and cell senescence, as well as under stress conditions. Research articles, review articles, as well as short communications, are invited.
Prof. Dr. Carlo Ventura
Prof. Dr. Silvia Canaider
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- stem cells
- development
- differentiation
- regeneration
- stress
- senescence/aging
- inflammation, survival
- apoptosis
