The "Selfish Cell": The Central Role of Metabolism in Relaying Environmental Stimuli and Controlling Cellular Function.
- 1Departmental Faculty of Medicine, UniCamillus-Saint Camillus International University of Health and Medical Sciences, 00131 Rome, Italy.
- 2IRCCS San Camillo Hospital, 30126 Venice, Italy.
Abstract
Science is dynamic, and novel models to better understand experimental observations are very important for its advancement. In the context of cell biology, knowledge about how cells behave in response to extracellular stimuli, and how these processes are dysregulated in pathologic conditions, is one of the challenges of biological research nowadays. From a theoretical point of view, the discovery of the double-helix model of DNA structure led to the idea that most aspects of a cell's behavior could be understood by knowing the sequence and the rules regulating the expression of genes. A paradigm of this way of thinking is the theory of the "selfish gene" by Richard Dawkins. Indeed, this approach is being found to have several limitations, especially in the interpretations of complex pathologies, such as cancer, metabolic or neurodegenerative diseases. For this reason, a paradigm shift should be considered to provide a better modeling of the biological processes that control cellular behavior and physiology. In particular, a central role should be given to metabolism as a relay between the environment and microenvironment and cell function, by driving epigenetic modifications. For these reasons, a new "selfish cell" model should be introduced, which could prove useful to better explain complex diseases and find more effective translational approaches.
Related
- Orchestrating Physiological Homeostasis: The Spatial and Cellular Heterogeneity of Tryptophan Transport and Metabolism.
- Terminal hydroxylation of eIF5A hypusination influences mitochondrial protein expression and cellular metabolism in fission yeast
- Magnetic Fields Improves the Cellular function in Hyperglycaemia
- Pathogenic variants of the mitochondrial copper chaperones SCO1 and SCO2 reshape their respective interactomes and disrupt cellular phospholipid metabolism
- Stathmin 1 regulates mitophagy and non-proliferative cellular function in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells
BibTeX
@article{matteo2026selfish,
title = {{The "Selfish Cell": The Central Role of Metabolism in Relaying Environmental Stimuli and Controlling Cellular Function.}},
author = {Sabina Di Matteo and Davide Gnocchi},
journal = {Biology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/biology15191790},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42883463},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - The "Selfish Cell": The Central Role of Metabolism in Relaying Environmental Stimuli and Controlling Cellular Function.
AU - Sabina Di Matteo
AU - Davide Gnocchi
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/08
JO - Biology
DO - 10.3390/biology15191790
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42883463
AB - Science is dynamic, and novel models to better understand experimental observations are very important for its advancement. In the context of cell biology, knowledge about how cells behave in response to extracellular stimuli, and how these processes are dysregulated in pathologic conditions, is one of the challenges of biological research nowadays. From a theoretical point of view, the discovery of the double-helix model of DNA structure led to the idea that most aspects of a cell's behavior could be understood by knowing the sequence and the rules regulating the expression of genes. A paradigm of this way of thinking is the theory of the "selfish gene" by Richard Dawkins. Indeed, this approach is being found to have several limitations, especially in the interpretations of complex pathologies, such as cancer, metabolic or neurodegenerative diseases. For this reason, a paradigm shift should be considered to provide a better modeling of the biological processes that control cellular behavior and physiology. In particular, a central role should be given to metabolism as a relay between the environment and microenvironment and cell function, by driving epigenetic modifications. For these reasons, a new "selfish cell" model should be introduced, which could prove useful to better explain complex diseases and find more effective translational approaches.
SN - 2079-7737
ER -