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Call for submissions to a thematic series

Stem cell therapy of COVID-19 and other respiratory diseases

Guest edited by Hong-Long James Ji (University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler), Michael A. Matthay (University of California, San Francisco) and Yuanlin Song (Fudan University)

respiratory diseases © Sergey Nivens / stock.adobe.com

Pulmonary diseases are the leading cause of death globally. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) alone is the top third-ranked killer, followed by lower respiratory infections. COVID-19 pandemic and other critically respiratory infections claim millions of lives annually. Most respiratory diseases, including COPD, lung cancer, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, asthma, and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), are refractory illnesses. Stem cell therapy holds the most promising to regenerate functional “new” lungs. Very recently, considerable progress has been reported in the physiology, pathology, and biology of respiratory stem cells. These preclinical studies applied single-cell analyses, multi-omics, decellularized lungs, 3D printing, 3D organoids, machine learning algorithms, and organ-on-a-chip methodologies. Registered clinical trials are growing rapidly for studying the feasibility, safety, and benefits of stem cells and their extracellular vesicles for COVID-19 and other respiratory diseases.

This thematic series aims to focus on the mechanisms or outcomes of adult stem cell therapies in preclinical models and clinical trials to treat respiratory diseases for a safe and effective outcome. Various article types are welcomed, including research, commentary, letter, method, review, short report, and viewpoint.

Read the published articles here.

Annual Journal Metrics

  • Citation Impact 2023
    Journal Impact Factor: 7.1
    5-year Journal Impact Factor: 7.9
    Source Normalized Impact per Paper (SNIP): 1.277
    SCImago Journal Rank (SJR): 1.798

    Speed 2023
    Submission to first editorial decision (median days): 34
    Submission to acceptance (median days): 211

    Usage 2023
    Downloads: 3,320,811
    Altmetric mentions: 1,402