Molecular Therapy Special Issue on Gene Editing Technologies and Applications
Authors: Robert Frederickson, Seppo Ylä-Herttuala
Journal: Molecular Therapy (2015)

It has been a busy couple of years for the ASGCT publishing program. Last year saw the launch of two additional sibling journals: Molecular Therapy—Methods and Clinical Development in January and Molecular Therapy—Oncolytics in December. These additions to the Molecular Therapy portfolio expand our capacity to publish the best gene and cell therapy studies by capitalizing on the increased pace of translational and commercial development in gene and cell therapy overall and specifically in the burgeoning fields of T-cell therapies and oncolytic virotherapy. Although some might question the need for more journals serving our communities, this is a time of great change for the business of science publishing, and our aim is to both meet the challenges engendered by this change and exploit the opportunities provided by these same challenges. The first Molecular Therapy sibling journal, Molecular Therapy—Nucleic Acids, launched in 2012, was quickly accepted by the field, and has seen robust submissions of high-quality work. The announcement of its first impact factor in June—a very respectable 4.512—ranks it among the top-rated journals serving the oligonucleotide and gene therapy communities. It has also confirmed the viability of the open-access model for a small society journal, and this bodes well for both MTMCD and MTO, which are poised to follow in MTNA's successful footsteps. Although Molecular Therapy retains its strong leadership as the top-ranked gene and cell therapy journal, we face ever more competition from both new and established journals. Our strategy is and will continue to be to focus on an efficient and fair review process. A growing concern is that as gene and cell therapy becomes more mainstream, researchers may tend to prefer to publish in journals serving their subspecialty disciplines. What is equally clear, however, is that the technology of gene and cell therapy continues to evolve at a rapid pace, and it is on the cutting edge of technology that we must focus to maintain and broaden our appeal to readers, while continuing to publish top translational and clinical studies making use of current state-of-the-art viral and nonviral gene therapy vectors. The expanded MT family enables us to be a bit more selective with regard to what we publish in MT itself, and will also allow us to devote more space to commissioned content in targeted areas. MT will publish its first special issue in early 2016 on the topic of gene editing technology and applications. Both engineered site-specific nucleases and transposons have emerged as powerful tools for gene correction, insertion, and deletion strategies,1Corrigan-Curay J O’Reilly M Kohn DB Cannon PM Bao G Bushman FD et al.Genome editing technologies: defining a path to clinic.Mol Ther. 2015; 23: 796-806Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (83) Google Scholar and the aim of the special issue is to provide a comprehensive overview of these developing methods in gene therapy. Topics covered will include cell line engineering, cellular therapies, site-specific gene targeting, preclinical and clinical studies, ex vivo and in vivo approaches, and other basic issues such as gene silencing, cargo capacity, genotoxicity, and integration efficiencies. The editors invite authors to provide original research, reviews, as well as hypothesis and opinion pieces for consideration for inclusion in the special issue. The application of gene editing technology to human cells and patients presents challenging ethical issues,2Porteus M Dann CT Genome editing of the germline: broadening the discussion.Mol Ther. 2015; 23: 980-982Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (17) Google Scholar,3Friedmann T Jonlin EC King NMP Torbett BE Wivel NA Kaneda Y et al.ASGCT and JSGT joint position statement on human genomic editing.Mol Ther. 2015; 23: 1282Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (41) Google Scholar and we invite commentaries from readers of all backgrounds and viewpoints. The deadline for submissions to be included in the special issue is 30 September 2015. Accepted contributions will appear online during the latter half of 2015 and will be assembled into a print issue in early 2016. Authors of potential contributions are encouraged to contact the editorial team at [email protected] for rapid consultation. We have already secured a broad selection of timely review articles from leading laboratories along with high-quality original submissions, and we anticipate that this issue will be of strong interest to the readership.