Special Issues

p53: Recent Facts and New Questions

This Special Issue of Cell Death & Differentiation brings together a set of articles focused on p53. Almost four decades of research and thousands of publications have firmly established p53 as one of the most frequently altered genes in cancer and the hub of the cell response to stress. Yet, new functions continue to emerge adding further complexity but also providing new translational avenues. Read through to explore recent findings on p53 mutants, family members, mechanisms of tumor suppression, regulation of ferroptosis and response to DNA replication and ribosome biogenesis stress, while challenged by the thought-provoking questions posed by leading scientists in the field.

Ubiquitin Signaling in Health and Disease

This Cell Death & Differentiation special issue is dedicated to ubiquitination, one of the most complex and pervasive post-translational protein modifications that affects thousands of targets and all aspects of eukaryotic biology. In this set of commissioned articles, the authors discuss new players of the complex ubiquitin system, the role of new 'ciphers' of the ubiquitin code, and emerging concepts of ubiquitin-mediated processes in cell physiology and disease development. Read through to learn how targeting components of the ubiquitin machinery could translate into new therapeutic opportunities.

Human Organoids: Filling the Gap Between Basic and Translational Research

This Special Issue of  Cell Death & Differentiation brings together a set of reviews focused on human organoids. Pioneers of the field discuss strategies to develop 3D cultures that faithfully recapitulate key features of human organs such as brain, inner ear, female reproductive or gastrointestinal tract, which can be used to study not only tissue physiology but also the pathogenic mechanisms of multiple diseases, ranging from infections to cancer. The authors discuss current challenges as well as strategies to harness the tremendous potential of organoids to fill the gap between basic and translational research.

Autophagy in Physiology and Disease

This Cell Death & Differentiation special issue on Autophagy brings together a series of commissioned reviews dedicated to the rapidly expanding autophagy field. Outstanding experts discuss how autophagy emerged as a key process in most organismal developmental stages, from fertilization throughout adult life and regeneration; how the removal of cellular organelles and infectious agents needs to be carefully controlled, impacting on the immune response and on an expanding list of diseases; what are the best strategies to modulate autophagy for the treatment of cancer and other pathologies? The readers will be challenged by this and other thought-provoking questions which we hope will help them charting innovative paths toward our thorough understanding of this fundamental process and its therapeutic applications.

Necroinflammation

This Special Issue of Cell Death & Differentiation focuses on necroinflammation, the inflammatory response to necrotic cell death. Leading experts in the field discuss the remarkable advances made in both basic and translational research, dissecting the highly interconnected pathways underlying various programmed necrosis forms, understanding how these pathways differently engage the immune system, how they impact on health and disease, and how they can be monitored and targeted in the clinical practice.

P53 and BCL-2

This special issue celebrates three decades of research since the landmark discovery of BCL2 and p53. Two dedicated review sets by leading scientists delve into facts, open questions and current challenges of these key players in life/death decisions. Read through to explore new avenues of investigation towards a successful application of this wealth of knowledge to the clinical practice