Novel Research on Membrane Trafficking and Membrane Contact Sites
A special issue of Membranes (ISSN 2077-0375). This special issue belongs to the section "Biological Membrane Functions".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 March 2022) | Viewed by 4884
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Eukaryotic cells are organized into membrane-bound organelles, and their content in terms of lipids and proteins is maintained and regulated by a constant flux of vesicular intermediates. Membrane trafficking is the process that controls the delivery of proteins, sugars, and lipids to all of the organelles. Cell communication with the environment is guaranteed by endocytosis and exocytosis through the continuous exchange of materials. Over the last decade, the membrane trafficking field expanded its horizon through the discovery of novel sites of interaction among organelles: membrane contact sites (MCSs). MCSs are defined as regions where two membranes of two distinct organelles come into close apposition (10 to 30 nm in distance) without fusing, most frequently involving the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and another organelle. This proximity allows a rapid flux of information, in terms of ions and lipids, tightly mediated by several classes of proteins, including tethering factors, lipid transfer proteins, and ion channels, in a highly dynamic manner. A challenge in the field of membrane trafficking is represented by the identification of novel layers of regulation together with the development of new advanced techniques for the precise study of all involved events. Our understanding of MCS is constantly growing along with knowledge of the molecular machineries responsible for their functioning, but many aspects, including regulation, dynamics, and function, have, so far, remained elusive.
For this Special Issue, we would like to invite you to submit reviews and original research articles further advancing our knowledge in the field of membrane trafficking and membrane contact sites, with a special focus on the use of innovative technological approaches for the study of membrane trafficking and on the recent findings in terms of function, composition, and regulation of membrane contact sites.
Dr. Rossella VendittiGuest 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. Membranes is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 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.
Keywords
- Membrane trafficking
- Membrane contact sites
- Lipid homeostasis
- Phosphoinositides
- Lipid transfer proteins
- Dynamics and regulation of membrane contact sites
- Advanced microscopy and imaging techniques
