Dear Colleagues,

Apoptosis is a finely regulated cellular process in tissue homeostasis and acts predominantly during embryonic development. In this delicate phase, the deletion of redundant cellular material is necessary for the correct morphogenesis of tissues and organs; but apoptosis is also an indispensable process for the maintenance of tissue homeostasis during the entire cell life.

Furthermore, apoptosis can also be triggered in pathological conditions, where the removal of cells undergoing damage to DNA and/or cellular organelles is essential for maintaining the health of organisms. Hence, the comprehension of the regulation of apoptotic pathways can help in the development of new promising therapeutic approaches.

Oncological diseases are characterized by an imbalance between cell division and cell death. Consequently, cells that should die continue to proliferate. The error that leads to this situation can occur anywhere during the apoptotic pathway.

Cancer can indeed be thought of as the product of successive genetic errors that lead to the formation of a malignant cell and the escape from cell death is one of the fundamental changes that cause this malignant transformation. Therefore, an impairment of the apoptotic process plays a fundamental role in carcinogenesis and can occur in different ways:

· imbalance between apoptotic and anti-apoptotic proteins (e.g. Bcl-2, p53, IAPs)

· reduced or non-functioning caspases (initiator caspase e.g.-2, -8, -9, -10; effector caspase e.g. -3, -6, -7)

· impaired death receptor signaling (e.g. TNFR1, Fas, TRAIL).

This Special Issue is focused on the role of apoptosis in oncological diseases and its purpose is the investigation of the physico-chemical stimuli regulating the apoptotic process and the molecular mechanisms at the basis of apoptosis imbalance in cancer onset and progression. The research of novel therapeutic targets and approaches in cancer fits within the aims of the special issue as well.

The guest-editors invite authors to submit original research and review articles related to any of these aspects.

Assoc. Prof. Viviana di Giacomo and Assoc. Prof. Silvia Sancilio

Guest Editors