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This eBook is a collection of articles from a Frontiers Research Topic. Frontiers Research Topics are very popular trademarks of the Frontiers Journals Series: they are collections of at least ten articles, all centered on a particular subject. With their unique mix of varied contributions from Original Research to Review Articles, Frontiers Research Topics unify the most influential researchers, the latest key findings and historical advances in a hot research area! Find out more on how to host your own Frontiers Research Topic or contribute to one as an author by contacting the Frontiers Editorial Office: frontiersin.org/about/contact

microglia --- neuroinflammation --- intercellular communication --- neurodegenerative diseases --- cytokines --- phagocytosis

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“Cells live together, but die singly”, this sentence wrote the German physiologist Theodor Engelmann in 1875 and although he had no particular knowledge of gap junction channels (their structure was discovered around 100 years later) he described their functions very well: gap junction channels are essential for intercellular communication and crucial for the development of tissue and organs. But besides providing an opportunity for cells to communicate gap junction channels might also prevent intercellular communication by channel closure thereby preserving the surrounding healthy tissue in case of cellular necrosis. According to today’s understanding gap junction channels play an important role during embryonic development, during growth, wound healing and cell differentiation and are also involved in the process of learning. In the past decades most intensive research was done not only to unravel the physiological role of gap junction channels but also to extend our knowledge of the contribution of these channels in pathogenesis. A new frontier emerges in the field “pharmacology of gap junctions” with the aim to control growth, differentiation, or electrical coupling via targeting gap junction channels pharmacologically.As we know today disturbances in gap junction synthesis, assembly and cellular distribution may account for various organic disorders from most different medical fields, such as the Charcot-Marie-Tooth neuropathy, epilepsy, Chagas-disease, Naxos-syndrome, congenital cardiac malformations, arrhythmias, cancer and as a very common disease in industrial countries atherosclerosis. Point mutations in gap junction channels have been found to cause hereditary diseases like the congenital deafness or the Charcot-Marie-Tooth neuropathy but the exact molecular mechanisms of gap junction malfunction from most of the mentioned illnesses are not fully understood. Moreover, in the last few years research has expanded on the role and function of connexin hemichannels and on a relatively new field the pannexins. The purpose of this volume is to give a comprehensive overview of the involvement of gap junction channels, hemichannels and pannexins on pathogenesis of inborn and acquired diseases and on emerging pharmacological strategies to target these channels.We welcome our colleagues to contribute their findings on the influence of gap junctions on pathogenesis and to unravel the secrets of intercellular communication. Take the lid off!

Cytology --- Biology --- Health & Biological Sciences --- development --- differentiation --- Growth --- pannexins --- intercellular communication --- hemichannels --- Connexins --- gap junction --- Pharmacology --- human diseases

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This book is an interdisciplinary effort to understand the evolution of communication from cells to societies, both in living organisms and in non-living ones, such as designed or emergent systems from socio-technological innovations (i.e., digital communication, institutional communication). It aims to provide better understanding of the universal versus contextual patterns of communication that we can potentially classify and identify if we look deeper into the history and evolution of this phenomenon at large. Novel research from a variety of disciplines, such as information theory, biology, linguistics, culture and social science that take a complex perspective is being explored, for an integrated understanding of what communication is at a fundamental level.

Cell interaction. --- Cell-cell interaction --- Cell communication --- Cellular communication (Biology) --- Cellular interaction --- Intercellular communication --- Cellular control mechanisms --- Social Sciences --- Social Communication --- Social Sciences and Humanities

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Many bacterial diseases are caused by organisms growing together as communities or biofilms. These microorganisms have the capacity to coordinately regulate specific sets of genes by sensing and communicating amongst themselves utilizing a variety of signals. This book examines the mechanisms of quorum sensing and cell-to-cell communication in bacteria and the roles that these processes play in regulating virulence, bacterial interactions with host tissues, and microbial development. Recent studies suggest that microbial cell-to-cell communication plays an important role in the pathogenesis of a variety of disease processes. Furthermore, some bacterial signal molecules may possess immunomodulatory activity. Thus, understanding the mechanisms and outcomes of bacterial cell-to-cell communication has important implications for appreciating host-pathogen interactions and ultimately may provide new targets for antimicrobial therapies that block or interfere with these communication networks.

Bacteria --- Cell interaction. --- Cellular signal transduction. --- Cellular information transduction --- Information transduction, Cellular --- Signal transduction, Cellular --- Bioenergetics --- Cellular control mechanisms --- Information theory in biology --- Cell-cell interaction --- Cell communication --- Cellular communication (Biology) --- Cellular interaction --- Intercellular communication --- Bacterial physiology --- Physiology --- Physiology.

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Cells are by nature compelled to live in groups. They develop dependence over signaling cues received from their microenvironment, in particular from other cells, whether of their own “kind” or of a different type. Therefore, communicating with these cells is a critical aspect of their behavior and fate, as they live and die normally or as they undergo disease-related pathological changes, with dramatic repercussions. In this book, we have asked expert researchers in the field of Intercellular Communication in Cancer to provide chapters on different aspects of interaction between neighboring cells, in the context of cancer diseases. We have specifically focused our efforts on membrane-to-membrane contact-based rather than growth factors-mediated modes of intercellular communications. The contributing authors provide an extensive overview of their respective area of specialization, with an in-depth discussion of the molecular mechanisms of cell-cell interactions, the impact on tumor progression and response to therapies, as well as the cancer diagnostic value of this scientific information. This book aims to introduce essential aspects of the normal and pathological cellular fate and homeostasis to both scientists and clinicians, and also to provide established researchers with an update on the novelties and future directions this expanding field is witnessing.

Oncology --- Medicine --- Health & Biological Sciences --- Cancer cells. --- Cell interaction. --- Cell junctions. --- Junctions, Cell --- Cell-cell interaction --- Cell communication --- Cellular communication (Biology) --- Cellular interaction --- Intercellular communication --- Medicine. --- Cancer research. --- Life sciences. --- Biomedicine. --- Cancer Research. --- Life Sciences, general. --- Cell interaction --- Cell membranes --- Membrane fusion --- Cellular control mechanisms --- Cells --- Pathology, Cellular --- Oncology. --- Biosciences --- Sciences, Life --- Science --- Tumors --- Cancer research