Aims & Scope
Arthritis Research and Therapy publishes mechanistic research elucidating the molecular pathophysiology of arthritis and related musculoskeletal disorders, focusing on disease mechanisms, biomarker discovery, and molecular targets rather than clinical management.
Disease Mechanisms
Molecular Pathways
Biomarker Discovery
Cellular Pathophysiology
Immunopathology
Scope Boundary: We do NOT consider clinical treatment protocols, patient management guidelines, surgical techniques, or therapy outcomes without mechanistic investigation.
Core Research Domains
Molecular Pathogenesis
- Inflammatory pathway dysregulation in rheumatoid arthritis
- Cartilage degradation mechanisms in osteoarthritis
- Synovial inflammation and pannus formation
- Autoantibody generation and immune complex formation
- Cytokine networks in arthritis progression
- Cellular senescence in joint degeneration
Typical Fit
"TNF-α signaling cascade disruption in synoviocyte activation: molecular mechanisms underlying rheumatoid arthritis pathogenesis"
Immunopathology & Autoimmunity
- T cell and B cell dysfunction in autoimmune arthritis
- Innate immune activation in joint inflammation
- Complement system dysregulation
- Macrophage polarization in synovial tissue
- Dendritic cell antigen presentation defects
- Regulatory T cell impairment mechanisms
Typical Fit
"Defective Treg suppression in psoriatic arthritis: molecular characterization of immune checkpoint failure"
Genetic & Epigenetic Mechanisms
- HLA associations and disease susceptibility
- Non-HLA genetic risk variants in arthritis
- DNA methylation patterns in disease progression
- MicroRNA regulation of inflammatory genes
- Histone modifications in synoviocytes
- Gene-environment interactions in disease onset
Typical Fit
"Epigenetic silencing of anti-inflammatory genes in ankylosing spondylitis: genome-wide methylation analysis"
Biomarker Discovery & Validation
- Protein biomarkers for disease activity monitoring
- Metabolomic signatures in synovial fluid
- Circulating nucleic acids as diagnostic markers
- Imaging biomarkers of molecular processes
- Multi-omics integration for disease stratification
- Predictive biomarkers for disease progression
Typical Fit
"Synovial fluid metabolomic profiling identifies novel lipid mediators predicting erosive progression in early rheumatoid arthritis"
Secondary Focus Areas
Cellular & Molecular Biology
- Chondrocyte apoptosis and autophagy mechanisms
- Osteoclast differentiation and bone resorption pathways
- Fibroblast-like synoviocyte activation
- Endothelial dysfunction in joint vasculature
- Extracellular matrix remodeling dynamics
Disease Models & Mechanisms
- Animal models recapitulating human arthritis pathology
- In vitro models of synovial inflammation
- Organoid systems for mechanistic studies
- Computational modeling of disease progression
- Ex vivo tissue analysis of molecular pathways
Molecular Imaging & Technology
- Molecular imaging of inflammatory processes
- Advanced microscopy of cellular interactions
- Spectroscopic analysis of tissue composition
- Single-cell sequencing in arthritis tissues
- Spatial transcriptomics of synovial architecture
Translational Pathophysiology
- Molecular mechanisms of comorbidities
- Systemic manifestations of arthritis at molecular level
- Pain pathway mechanisms in arthritis
- Fatigue mechanisms in inflammatory arthritis
- Cardiovascular risk molecular pathways
Emerging Research Frontiers
Explicitly Out of Scope
Topics Not Considered for Publication
- Clinical Treatment Protocols & Therapy Guidelines Drug dosing regimens, treatment algorithms, clinical practice guidelines, therapy selection criteria. Rationale: These are clinical management topics without mechanistic investigation.
- Surgical Techniques & Procedural Outcomes Joint replacement procedures, arthroscopy techniques, surgical approaches, operative outcomes. Rationale: Surgical methods fall outside pathophysiology focus unless investigating molecular mechanisms.
- Patient Management & Health Services Care coordination, patient education programs, healthcare delivery models, quality improvement initiatives. Rationale: These address clinical practice organization rather than disease mechanisms.
- Clinical Diagnosis Without Mechanistic Insight Diagnostic criteria, clinical examination techniques, imaging interpretation for diagnosis. Rationale: Diagnostic approaches without molecular mechanism investigation are out of scope.
- Rehabilitation & Physical Therapy Exercise protocols, physiotherapy techniques, pain management strategies without molecular investigation. Rationale: Therapeutic interventions without pathophysiological mechanism study.
Article Types & Editorial Priorities
Priority 1: Fast-Track
Expedited Review
- Original Research Articles
- Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses
- Methods & Protocols
- Registered Reports
Priority 2: Standard
Regular Review Timeline
- Short Communications
- Data Notes
- Perspectives
- Technical Advances
Rarely Considered
Exceptional Cases Only
- Case Reports (only with novel mechanism)
- Opinion Pieces
- Commentaries
- Letters to Editor
Editorial Standards & Requirements
Reporting Guidelines
All submissions must adhere to discipline-specific reporting standards:
- ARRIVE 2.0 for animal studies
- MIQE for qPCR experiments
- PRISMA for systematic reviews
- STROBE for observational studies
- STARD for diagnostic accuracy studies
Data Transparency
We require comprehensive data sharing to support reproducibility:
- Raw data deposition in public repositories
- Complete reagent and antibody information
- Detailed experimental protocols
- Statistical analysis code availability
- Biological material sharing agreements
Ethics & Compliance
Mandatory ethical approvals and declarations:
- Institutional review board approval for human samples
- Animal care committee approval (IACUC/equivalent)
- Informed consent documentation
- Conflict of interest disclosure
- Funding source transparency
Preprint & Prior Publication
Our policy on preprints and previous dissemination:
- Preprint posting encouraged (bioRxiv, medRxiv)
- Conference abstracts do not preclude submission
- No prior publication in peer-reviewed journals
- Preprint DOI must be disclosed at submission
- Thesis chapters acceptable with proper citation
Publication Metrics & Timeline
21
Days to First Decision
38%
Acceptance Rate
45
Days to Publication
Open
Access Model
