Aims & Scope
Core Research Domains
Molecular Stem Cell Biology
- Gene regulatory networks controlling pluripotency and self-renewal
- Transcription factor interactions and chromatin remodeling
- Signaling pathway mechanisms (Wnt, Notch, Hedgehog, TGF-beta)
- Epigenetic regulation of stem cell identity and fate
- Non-coding RNA functions in stem cell maintenance
- Protein-protein interactions in stem cell signaling complexes
Identification of novel transcription factor binding sites regulating OCT4 expression in embryonic stem cells through ChIP-seq and functional validation
Differentiation Mechanisms
- Molecular pathways driving lineage specification
- Cell fate determination and commitment mechanisms
- Temporal dynamics of gene expression during differentiation
- Metabolic reprogramming during cell state transitions
- Protein degradation and post-translational modifications
- Cell-cell communication molecules in differentiation
Time-resolved proteomics revealing sequential activation of signaling cascades during neural differentiation from pluripotent stem cells
Cellular Reprogramming
- Molecular mechanisms of induced pluripotency
- Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) molecular biology
- Direct lineage conversion pathways
- Epigenetic barriers to reprogramming
- Transcriptional network rewiring during reprogramming
- Chromatin accessibility changes in cell fate conversion
Single-cell RNA-seq analysis of heterogeneous reprogramming trajectories identifying rate-limiting molecular checkpoints in iPSC generation
Stem Cell Genomics & Omics
- Single-cell transcriptomics and spatial transcriptomics
- Proteomics and phosphoproteomics of stem cell states
- Metabolomics of stem cell metabolism and bioenergetics
- Genomic stability and mutation accumulation
- Chromatin architecture and 3D genome organization
- Multi-omics integration and computational modeling
Integrated multi-omics analysis revealing metabolic-epigenetic coupling in hematopoietic stem cell quiescence and activation
Secondary Focus Areas
- Stem cell niche molecular interactions and microenvironment signaling
- Cell cycle regulation and proliferation control mechanisms
- DNA damage response and genome maintenance pathways
- Mitochondrial dynamics and metabolic regulation
- Autophagy and protein quality control in stem cells
- Stem cell aging mechanisms at molecular level
- Cancer stem cell molecular biology and transformation pathways
- Computational biology and machine learning for stem cell data analysis
- Novel molecular markers for stem cell identification and characterization
- In vitro culture systems for molecular mechanism studies
- Animal models for stem cell molecular biology research
- Plant stem cell molecular mechanisms (comparative biology)
Emerging Research Areas
- Artificial intelligence applications in stem cell molecular data analysis
- CRISPR-based functional genomics in stem cell systems
- Synthetic biology approaches to stem cell engineering
- Single-molecule imaging of stem cell processes
- Organoid systems for developmental biology studies
- Extracellular vesicle molecular cargo in stem cell communication
Manuscripts in emerging areas undergo additional editorial assessment to ensure alignment with our molecular biology focus. Authors should emphasize fundamental mechanisms rather than applications.
Article Types & Editorial Priorities
High-Impact Research
Focused Contributions
Limited Acceptance
Editorial Standards & Requirements
Reporting Guidelines
All manuscripts must follow appropriate reporting standards: ARRIVE for animal studies, MIQE for qPCR, MIAME for microarrays, and discipline-specific guidelines for omics data.
Data Availability
Raw data must be deposited in public repositories (GEO, ArrayExpress, ProteomeXchange, MetaboLights). Accession numbers required at submission.
Ethics Compliance
Institutional review board approval required for human-derived materials. Animal studies must comply with institutional and national regulations.
Preprint Policy
Preprint posting on bioRxiv, medRxiv, or other recognized servers is encouraged and does not affect consideration for publication.
Reproducibility
Detailed methods, reagent information, and statistical approaches must enable independent replication. Code availability required for computational analyses.
Conflict of Interest
All financial and non-financial competing interests must be declared. Funding sources and sponsor roles must be transparently reported.
