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Information for AuthorsRevised January 2009
About The Journal of Immunology
Full-Length Articles: The JI publishes novel peer-reviewed findings in all areas of experimental immunology, including both basic and clinical studies. Manuscripts are published in the following sections:
Descriptions of new reagents, research techniques, or clinical case reports usually are appropriate only to the extent they provide innovative insight into unresolved problems or represent major breakthroughs. The JI will not publish descriptive manuscripts that report the identification of epitopes recognized by B or T cells, unless such identification can be considered of unusual immunological significance. The JI usually will not publish the definition of peptide binding motifs for previously uncharacterized MHC products, regardless of species or method used. Similarly, The JI usually will not publish surveys of possible or actual epitopes from pathogens not previously examined for T cell epitopes. Authors should address the immunological significance explicitly and convincingly when submitting a paper that may fall into the above categories. Those wishing to report the identification of epitopes may do so at the Immune Epitope Database and Analysis Resource. The JI will consider for publication comparative analysis of proteins of immunological interest (intra- or inter-species comparisons) only if such manuscripts transcend a simple descriptive examination and reveal aspects of significance to evolution and/or function of such proteins that are not intuitively obvious. The JI will publish manuscripts that describe the characterization of the three-dimensional structure of antibody-defined epitopes, antigen-antibody, or peptide-MHC complexes only if such structures reveal features that are unique in an immunologically relevant manner. The JI usually will not publish structures of new MHC allelic products not previously crystallized, homologs from previously uncharacterized species, or peptide-MHC complexes composed of known MHC allelic products but with different peptides. Reports of the three-dimensional structures of allergens or other antigens likewise also fall under this description. The editors consider the atomic structure of antigen-antibody, MHC-peptide, and TCR-MHC complexes sufficiently well established to insist on immunological relevance as a criterion for publication in The JI. Cutting Edge Articles: Cutting Edge is the rapid publication section of The JI, presenting short reports describing significant advances in an area of immunology. Manuscripts submitted for consideration in this section should present scientifically sound and novel research in a clear and concise fashion, and contain conclusions of unusual interest to immunologists that are justified from the data presented. Chief criteria for acceptance are scientific novelty and quality, originality, clarity, and conciseness. In addition to research articles, the Cutting Edge section publishes invited brief commentaries on controversial subjects of broad interest to immunologists. Brief Reviews: The JI publishes a small number of invited reviews on a regular basis. These reviews are four to six journal pages in length, including illustrations and references. They cover a focused area on the advancing edge of immunology and provide a balanced view of current research that can be understood by researchers outside of that specialty. Authors interested in submitting an article to Brief Reviews should submit a proposal, including an outline of the proposed review, by e-mail to the Editor-in-Chief. Pillars of Immunology: In the first issue of each month, The JI reprints papers that have come to be regarded as classics in the field. An invited commentary will accompany each reprinted article. Suggestions for significant articles may be made by e-mail to the Editor-in-Chief. In This Issue: A small number of papers regarded by reviewers and editors as the top 10% in their field are highlighted in this section. Letters to the Editor: The Editor-in-Chief invites brief letters (250 words or less) of general interest, commenting on work published in The JI within the previous three months. A limited number of letters will be selected for publication. The authors of the original work will be invited to respond, and both the original letter and the authors' response will be published together. If you are interested in commenting on a published paper, e-mail the Editor-in-Chief. Extended Methods: Extended Methods is intended to feature a novel, "detailed laboratory method" used in the accompanying article that will allow others to recapitulate the experimental design. If accepted, Extended Methods will be published online only. Extended Methods may not be used to replace methods provided in the Materials and Methods section, nor may it repeat what is already in the Materials and Methods section of the manuscript. The Extended Methods section may not contain previously published material. Extended Methods should be submitted as a PDF that contains ONLY the Extended Methods; it will be reviewed with the manuscript. Upload the file during the online submission by selecting "Supplemental Data File" as the File Type and entering "Extended Methods" as the Title and labeling it as Extended Methods. Links to the Extended Methods will appear in two places in the online journal: in the Table of Contents and in the information box associated with the first page of the full-text article. There will not be any links in the body of the article. In the printed paper, Extended Methods will be footnoted the first time mentioned: "The online version of this article contains Extended Methods." |
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