Novel Ligands and Receptors in Endocrine Disorders

Ligand-receptor interactions are involved in various cellular events that initiate and maintain the physiological functions of cells. In endocrine diseases, key pathological mechanisms can be attributed to abnormalities in ligands (e.g., hormones or cytokines) and their receptors, which are also key biomarkers or targets for the diagnosis and treatment of endocrine diseases. With modern lifestyle and environmental changes, current research efforts are dedicated to identifying new regulators and mediators of pathological states, especially in the emerging field of exposure science. For example, abnormal endocrine molecules, including ubiquitous exogenous environmental endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), disrupt tissue development through hormone receptor-dependent/non-independent pathways that will lead to endocrine dysregulation and tissue dysplasia. Furthermore, with the advent of various omics technologies and bioinformatics analyses, more and more novel ligands and receptors are being identified in the complex endocrine response to internal or external environmental changes. To date, there is still a large knowledge gap in elucidating their biological and clinical significance. In this research topic, we focus on functional ligands and membrane receptors to facilitate the discovery of new therapeutic strategies.

The aim of this topic is to gather current knowledge and research on new ligands and receptors for endocrine diseases. Although the molecular regulatory networks under tissue dysplasia are highly complex, it is worthwhile to focus on signaling molecules and their receptors and to develop potential therapeutic strategies based on their regulatory mechanisms.

Specific topics include:
1) Effective ligands or ligand analogues, such as endogenous secretory proteins or cytokines in central or peripheral endocrine tissues.
2) Canonical or non-canonical receptors in the development and pathogenesis of endocrine diseases or related tissues.
3) Combine population cohort studies or human pathology samples with animal models to reveal novel target receptors for environmental EDCs, depending on their pathological role.
4) Studies involving key signal transduction following ligand-receptor interactions.
5) Promising approaches for mechanistic studies or disease diagnosis or treatment.

We welcome Original Research, Reviews, and Methods articles to be submitted to this topic.