Disorder, regeneration, and repair: Recent insights from biomaterials to molecular biology

Non-communicable diseases, also known as chronic diseases, cannot spread from person to person, and they cause 41 million deaths every year, which is equivalent to 71% of the total global deaths. They include: cardiovascular diseases (such as heart disease); cancer; chronic respiratory diseases (such as asthma); diabetes (such as type 2 diabetes); and degeneration disease (such as osteoarthritis). The cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying these diseases remain unclear, and current treatments are limited. Understanding the origins of these diseases, therefore, are of major importance in order to alleviate disease symptoms, and slow or even reverse slow or even reverse the disease. At the same time, biomaterials are natural or synthetic functional materials that are used to interact with living systems, and can diagnose, treat, replace, repair, or induce regeneration of their cells, tissues, and organs, which play an integral role in medicine today. The research and development of biomaterials (such as medical implants, drug delivery systems, methods to promote healing of human tissues) has made remarkable achievements, enabling millions of patients to recover and greatly improving the quality of human life.

In this Research Topic, we welcome both original research and review articles related to the cause, diagnostics, treatments, and therapeutics of non-communicable diseases that focus on the mechanisms that control cell morphology, proliferation, differentiation, and communication to understand disease, regeneration, and repair; biochemistry and molecular genetics of disease; and development of advanced biomaterials, and their interaction with biological systems. These themes include, but are not limited to, the following:

•Cell communication and signaling;
•Endocytic pathway;
•Polymers involved in cell biology;
•Biocompatibility and safety for artificial organ using polymer systems;
•Biodegradable polymers with different degradation kinetics in the bio-environment;
•Molecular probes and nanoparticles for imaging;
•Drug delivery carriers;
•Disease-modifying drugs;
•Synovial fluid and articular cartilage;
•Gene/cell therapies;
•Disease modelling for drug and therapeutic development;
•Diagnostics and therapeutics.

Dr. Weifeng Lin holds patents related to this Research Topic, all other Topic Editors declare no Conflict of Interest.