Molecular Mechanisms of Neurological Autoimmune Disorders Volume II

Dear Colleagues,

Neurological autoimmune disorders are a broad and heterogenous group of autoimmune diseases affecting the central (i.e., brain, spinal cord, CNS) and peripheral (i.e., peripheral nerves, neuromuscular junction, skeletal muscle, PNS) nervous systems, leading to a wide spectrum of symptoms and multifaceted clinical manifestations. They include demyelinating disorders such as multiple sclerosis (MS) and neuromyelitis optica (NMO), autoimmune encephalitis, Guillain–Barrè syndrome, and myasthenia gravis (MG). MG is widely considered a prototypic autoimmune disease, due to the well-known role of autoantibodies for neuromuscular junction proteins as a cause of the disease. The discovery of autoantibodies for neuronal or glial targets is still an open research field, which may allow for gaining a major understanding of CNS autoimmunity, with relevant clinical implications.

This Special Issue aims to increase scientific knowledge on the pathogenic mechanisms underlying autoimmunity in neurological diseases, including MS, NMO, autoimmune encephalitis, Guillain–Barrè syndrome, and MG. It will be focused on the role of autoantibodies, and on genetic and environmental (e.g., infections) risk factors associated with autoimmunity development. Original data on the contribution of neuroinflammation, as well as on central and peripheral immune system cell (e.g., innate immune system cell, T and B cell) alterations, will be collected. Manuscripts providing insights on non-coding RNAs as molecular factors implicated in immune tolerance breakdown, or clinical biomarkers for these disorders, are also welcome.

New findings on the molecular events leading to CNS and PNS autoimmune disorders will promote translational research, paving the way for the development of more specific and effective therapies for the treatment of these conditions.

Dr. Paola Cavalcante
Dr. Francesca Andreetta
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 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.

• neurological autoimmune disorders
• multiple sclerosis
• neuromyelitis optica
• autoimmune encephalitis
• Guillain–Barrè syndrome
• myasthenia gravis
• autoantibodies
• neuroinflammation
• innate and adaptive immune systems
• non-coding RNAs