12/10/2026

MicroRNA as key players in skin regeneration and anti-aging pathways

Azizi et al.

For full text please see pdf.

05/10/2026

Glycemia reprograms substrate transport and shapes divergent stress responses in differentiating H9c2 cells

Passaponti et al.

For full text please see pdf.

07/08/2026

Stress management by benzodiazepines in septic shock and critical illness: mechanistic and clinical evidence supporting alternative sedative strategies

Lambertucci et al.

For full text please see pdf.

07/07/2026

Triptolide inhibits ovarian cancer growth and metastasis via reprogramming of tumor-associated macrophages

Chen et al.

For full text please see pdf.

03/07/2026

Polyamine-mediated inhibition of ferroptosis contributes to geroprotection

Madeo et al.

For full text please see pdf.

24/04/2026

The IRE1α-XBP1s-NFκB axis controls cell survival and epithelial differentiation under osmotic stress through arachidonic acid metabolism activation

Parra et al.

Arachidonic acid (AA) metabolism plays a critical role in renal cell osmoadaptation. We recently demonstrated that hypertonicity induces the expression and activation of cytosolic phospholipase A2 (cPLA2). On one hand, AA released by cPLA2 enhances triacylglyceride (TG) synthesis and accumulation. On the other hand, AA is converted into prostaglandins (PG) through cyclooxygenase 2 (COX2) activity. Both processes are required for renal cell survival under osmotic stress. However, the mechanisms by which hypertonicity induces cPLA2 expression remain poorly understood. Given that we previously shown that hypertonicity regulates TG synthesis through the IRE1α-XBP1s branch of the unfolded protein (…)

06/03/2026

Multifaceted role of CNPY2 beyond ER stress: Disease implications and therapeutic potential

Ebadollahibaruq et al.

This review meticulously dissects CNPY2’s structural characteristics, expression patterns, and biological functions across various disorders, emphasizing its role on tumor initiation, microenvironmental stress, and chemoresistance, and evaluating its potential as a therapeutic target.

30/01/2026

Antifungal peptides: from modes of action to synergistic and immunologic potential

Carmona-Gutierrez et al.
26/01/2026

Reversal of Cushing syndrome by antibody-mediated neutralization of ACBP/DBI

Shen et al.

For full text please see pdf.

02/11/2017

The role of hydrophobic matching on transmembrane helix packing in cells

Grau et al.

INTRODUCTION Assembly of the native structure of most integral membrane proteins takes place in two main steps [cite source=’pubmed’]1694455[/cite]. The first step includes targeting and insertion of the protein into a lipid membrane. In the

20/09/2017

mIDH-associated DNA hypermethylation in acute myeloid leukemia reflects differentiation blockage rather than inhibition of TET-mediated demethylation

Wiehle et al.

INTRODUCTION Isocitrate dehydrogenase enzymes IDH1 and IDH2 are two closely related enzymes that convert isocitrate to α-ketoglutarate in the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle. The genes encoding IDH1 and IDH2 are recurrently mutated in different cancer

25/08/2017

The long non-coding RNA H19 suppresses carcinogenesis and chemoresistance in hepatocellular carcinoma

Schultheiss et al.

The long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) H19 represents a maternally expressed and epigenetically regulated imprinted gene product and is discussed to have either tumor-promoting or tumor-suppressive actions. Recently, H19 was shown to be regulated under inflammatory conditions. Therefore, aim of this study was to determine the function of H19 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), an inflammation-associated type of tumor. In four different human HCC patient cohorts H19 was distinctly downregulated in tumor tissue compared(…)

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16/04/2021

Coping with the calcium overload caused by cell injury: ER to the rescue

Chandra et al.

It was nearly a century ago that Lewis Victor Heilbrunn identified the requirement of extracellular Ca2+ for what he termed as ‘surface precipitation reaction‘, a process that allows the cytoplasm streaming out from an injured

12/04/2021

Cellular mechanisms linking cancers to obesity

Liu et al.

Obesity is epidemiologically linked to 13 forms of cancer. The local and systemic obese environment is complex and likely affect tumors through multiple avenues. This includes modulation of cancer cell phenotypes and the composition of the tumor microenvironment. A molecular understanding of how obesity links to cancer holds promise for identifying candidate genes for targeted therapy for obese cancer patient. Herein, we review both the cell-autonomous and non-cell-autonomous mechanisms linking obesity and cancer as well as provide an overview of the mouse model systems applied to study this.

22/03/2021

Inhibitory DAMPs in immunogenic cell death and its clinical implications

Hayashi et al.

– [table id=388/] INHIBITORY DAMP OR INHIBITORY DAMPS? How are immunostimulatory DAMPs shut off? Under normal physiological conditions, the co-stimulatory molecules, CD80/86, on antigen presenting cells bind to the co-activating signal, CD28, on T cells

08/03/2021

Roles of phosphatidyl inositol 3 kinase gamma (PI3Kγ) in respiratory diseases

Sala et al.

Phosphatidyl inositol 3 kinase gamma (PI3Kγ) is expressed in all the cell types that are involved in airway inflammation and disease, including not only leukocytes, but also structural cells, where it is expressed at very low levels under physiological conditions, while is significantly upregulated after stress. In the airways, PI3Kγ behaves as a trigger or a controller, depending on the pathological context. In this review, the contribution of PI3Kγ in a plethora of respiratory diseases, spanning from acute lung injury, pulmonary fibrosis, asthma, cystic fibrosis and response to both bacterial and viral pathogens, will be commented.

18/02/2021

Targeting FBXO44/SUV39H1 elicits tumor cell-specific DNA replication stress and viral mimicry

Shen and Spruck

Repetitive elements (REs) are normally transcriptionally silenced in somatic cells by repressive epigenetic modifications, which are thought to include DNA methylation and histone modifications such as deacetylation, H3K9me3, and H4K20me3. Although, it is unclear how RE silencing is maintained through DNA replication cycles in rapidly growing cancer cells. On the other hand, the reactivation of endogenous retroelements beyond a threshold level of tolerance in cancer cells, such as by treatment with DNA demethylating agents or HDAC or LSD1 inhibitors, can induce viral mimicry responses that augment certain cancer therapies, including immunotherapy. However, these agents can also affect normal cells presenting obvious side effects. Therefore, uncovering cancer cell-specific RE silencing mechanisms could provide a basis for the development of a new generation of cancer (…)

17/02/2021

The OFD1 protein is a novel player in selective autophagy: another tile to the cilia/autophagy puzzle

Morleo and Franco.

Autophagy is an evolutionary conserved and highly regulated cellular degradation pathway which entails the engulfment of cellular components into double-membrane vesicles, called autophagosomes, which then fuse with lysosomes to degrade their content and recycle nutrients

18/01/2021

Innate RIG-I signaling restores antigen presentation in tumors and overcomes T cell resistance

Thier and Paschen

In recent years, therapy with immune modulating antibodies, termed immune checkpoint blockade (ICB), has revolutionized the treatment of advanced metastatic melanoma, yielding long-lasting clinical responses in a subgroup of patients. But despite this remarkable progress, resistance to therapy represents a major clinical challenge. ICB efficacy is critically dependent on cytotoxic CD8+ T cells targeting tumor cells in an HLA class I (HLA-I) antigen-dependent manner. Transcriptional suppression of the HLA-I antigen processing and presentation machinery (HLA-I APM) in melanoma cells leads to HLA-I-low/-negative tumor cell phenotypes escaping CD8+ T cell recognition and contributing to ICB resistance. In general, HLA-I-low/-negative tumor cells can be re-sensitized to T cells by interferons (IFN), augmenting HLA-I APM expression. However, this mechanism fails when melanoma cells acquire resistance to IFN, which recently turned out as a key resistance mechanism in (…)

05/01/2021

Improving glucose and lipids metabolism: drug development based on bile acid related targets

Korenkova et al.

Bariatric surgery is one of the most effective treatment options for severe obesity and its comorbidities. However, it is a major surgery that poses several side effects and risks which impede its clinical use. Therefore, it is urgent to develop alternative safer pharmacological approaches to mimic bariatric surgery. Recent studies suggest that bile acids are key players in mediating the metabolic benefits of bariatric surgery. Bile acids can function as signaling molecules by targeting bile acid nuclear receptors and membrane receptors, like FXR and TGR5 respectively. In addition, the composition of bile acids is regulated by either the hepatic sterol enzymes such as CYP8B1 or the gut microbiome. These bile acid related targets all play important roles in regulating metabolism. Drug development based on these targets could provide new hope for patients without the risks of surgery and at a lower cost. In this review, we summarize the most updated progress on bile acid related targets and development of small molecules as drug candidates based on these targets.

10/12/2020

Mitochondrial dynamics links PINCH-1 signaling to proline metabolic reprogramming and tumor growth

Guo and Wu

How does PINCH-1 regulate proline synthesis? Proline is synthesized in cells through reduction of Δ1-pyrroline-5-carboxylate (P5C) with NAD(P)H as an electron donor, a reaction catalyzed by pyrroline-5-carboxylate reductase (PYCR). Three mammalian PYCR isoforms (i.e., PYCR1,

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07/08/2026

Stress management by benzodiazepines in septic shock and critical illness: mechanistic and clinical evidence supporting alternative sedative strategies

Lambertucci et al.

For full text please see pdf.

03/07/2026

Polyamine-mediated inhibition of ferroptosis contributes to geroprotection

Madeo et al.

For full text please see pdf.

13/11/2025

Burning fat with cysteine depletion

Adams et al.

Adams and colleagues comment on two complementary articles by Varghese et al and Lee et al showing that cysteine depletion through combined dietary and genetic means in mice evokes a unique stress response in the liver to amplify these metabolic outcomes and offer a potentially new treatment option for obesity.

30/04/2024

Pathogenic hyperactivation of mTORC1 by cytoplasmic EP300 in Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome

Ferret et al.

Mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) is a multiprotein complex that serves as a pivotal regulator of cell growth, protein synthesis, metabolism and autophagy [1][2]. This complex compromises mTOR (mechanistic target of rapamycin), RAPTOR

12/03/2024

The missing hallmark of health: psychosocial adaptation

López-Otín and Kroemer

INTRODUCTION The comprehension of health –defined in a positive fashion rather than as the absence of disease–requires a theory. We recently launched the bases of such a health theory by enumerating the fundamental biological characteristics

15/08/2023

Gut microbiota turn up the heat after bariatric surgery

Mohammed K. Hankir

Bariatric surgeries like vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG) and Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) cause well-established shifts in the gut microbiota, but how this contributes to their unique metabolic benefits is poorly understood. Jin et al and Yadav et al now provide two complementary lines of evidence suggesting that gut microbiota-derived metabolites after VSG and RYGB activate thermogenesis in fat through distinct mechanisms, to in turn promote weight loss and/or improvements in glycemic control.

10/07/2023

Molecular targets of spermidine: implications for cancer suppression

Zimmermann et al.

Spermidine is a ubiquitous, natural polyamine with geroprotective features. Supplementation of spermidine extends the lifespan of yeast, worms, flies, and mice, and dietary spermidine intake correlates with reduced human mortality. However, the crucial role of polyamines in cell proliferation has also implicated polyamine metabolism in neoplastic diseases, such as cancer. While depleting intracellular polyamine biosynthesis halts tumor growth in mouse models, lifelong external spermidine administration in mice does not increase cancer incidence. In contrast, a series of recent findings points to anti-neoplastic properties of spermidine administration in the context of immunotherapy. Various molecular mechanisms for the anti-aging and anti-cancer properties have been proposed, including the promotion of autophagy, enhanced translational control, and augmented mitochondrial function. For instance, spermidine allosterically activates mitochondrial trifunctional protein (MTP), a bipartite protein complex that mediates (…)

25/05/2023

Novel insights at the crossroads of antibiotic use and cancer risk

Malanovic and Vejzovic

The continuous use of antibiotics is associated with the spread of antimicrobial resistances and the not yet clear link to cancer development. Many conventional antibiotics have already shown different effects on a variety of cancer types raising questions for their rational use in cancer. However, discrepancy in the observed trend for some antibiotics reducing cancer development and being associated with higher risk of cancer underscores the lack of understanding the complex link between antibiotics and cancer. Here, we briefly summarize the possible antibiotic-mediated effects on cancer and conclude that those effects can be direct via i) specific targeting of tumor/cancer, ii) antimicrobial activity and iii) immunomodulatory activity whereby iv) indirectly caused effects primarily affect immune equilibrium between bacteria, cancer and immune cells. Furthermore, we also conclude that there is a great need for bulk profiling, comprehensive screening programs in all countries and in-depth studies to understand the risks and benefits of antibiotic use.

13/03/2023

Impact of microbiota on breast cancer hormone therapy

Terrisse et al.

Recent observations indicate that the pathogenesis and prognosis of hormone-receptor breast cancer is not only dictated by the properties of the malignant cells but also by immune and microbial parameters. Thus, the immunosurveillance system retards the development of hormone-positive breast cancer and contributes to the therapeutic efficacy of estrogen receptor antagonists and aromatase inhibitors. Moreover, the anticancer immune response is profoundly modulated by the local and intestinal microbiota, which influences cancer cell-intrinsic signaling pathways, affects the composition and function of the immune infiltrate present in the tumor microenvironment and modulates the metabolism of estrogens. Indeed, specific bacteria in the gut produce enzymes that affect the enterohepatic cycle of estrogen metabolites, convert estrogens into androgens or generate estrogen-like molecules. The knowledge of these circuitries is in its infancy, calling for further in-depth analyses.

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FAQs

Whether you’re preparing a manuscript, reviewing a paper, or just exploring the journal, this FAQ answers the essentials—from scope and founders to impact and how to submit. Prefer a tailored path? Pick For authors or For reviewers below.

Peer-reviewed, open-access research using unicellular organisms (and multicellular microorganisms) to understand cellular responses and human disease.

The journal (founded in 2014) is led by its Editors-in-Chief Frank Madeo, Didac Carmona-Gutierrez, and Guido Kroemer

Microbial Cell has been publishing original scientific literature since 2014, and from the very beginning has been managed by active scientists through an independent Publishing House (Shared science Publishers). The journal was conceived as a platform to acknowledge the importance of unicellular organisms, both as model systems as well as in the biological context of human health and disease.

Ever since, Microbial Cell has very positively developed and strongly grown into a respected journal in the unicellular research community and even beyond. This scientific impact is reflected in the yearly number of citations obtained by articles published in Microbial Cell, as recorded by the Web of Science (Clarivate, formerly Thomson/Reuters):

The scientific impact of Microbial Cell is also mirrored in a series of milestones:

2015: Microbial Cell is included in the Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), a selection of developing journals drafted by Clarivate Analytics based on the candidate’s publishing standards, quality, editorial content, and citation data. Note: As an ESCI-selected journal, Microbial Cell is currently being evaluated in a rigorous and long process to determine an inclusion in the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE), which allows the official calculation of Clarivate Analytics’ impact factor.

2016: Microbial Cell is awarded the so-called DOAJ Seal by the selective Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ). The DOAJ Seal is an exclusive mark of certification for open access journals granted by DOAJ to journals that adhere to outstanding best practice and achieve an extra high and clear commitment to open access and high publishing standards.

2017: Microbial Cell is included in Pubmed Central (PMC), allowing the archiving of all the journal’s articles in PMC and PubMed.

2019: Microbial Cell is indexed in the prestigious abstract and citation database Scopus after a thorough selection process. This also means that Microbial Cell obtains, for the first time, an official Scopus CiteScore as well as an official journal ranking in the Scimago Journal and Country Ranking.

2022: Microbial Cell’s CiteScore reaches a value of 7.2 for the year 2021, positioning Microbial Cell among the top microbiology journals (previously available CiteScores: 2019: 5.4; 2020: 5.1).

2022: Microbial Cell is indexed in the highly selective Science Citation Index Expanded™, which covers approx. 9,500 of the world’s most impactful journals across 178 scientific disciplines. In their journal selection and curation process, Clarivate´s editors apply 24 ‘quality’ criteria and four ‘impact’ criteria to select the most influential journals in their respective fields. This selection is also a pre-requisite for inclusion in the JCR, which features the impact factor.

2022: Microbial Cell is listed in the Journal Citation Reports™ (JCR), and obtains its first official Journal Impact Factor™ (JIF) for the year 2021: 5.316.

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