On behalf of the Editorial Board, I am pleased to welcome you to the new Landes Bioscience journal, Tissue Barriers. This is the first cross-disciplinary journal dedicated to the architecture, biological roles, regulation and dysfunctions of tissue barriers and intercellular junctions. We are launching our journal in a very exciting time. The tissue barrier research field is rapidly growing and several thousand papers on the subject are being published each year. However, it is not a big secret that the tissue barrier research community lacks cohesion. Indeed, researchers studying epithelial barriers and junctions do not frequently communicate with their colleagues tackling similar scientific problems in the vascular endothelium. Even in the epithelial barriers field, scientists tend to gravitate into “tissue-centric” clusters narrowly focusing on the barriers of the gut, lungs, skin and reproductive systems. Additionally, there are large autonomous cohorts of researchers working with invertebrate models of epithelial morphogenesis, studying drug delivery or examining immune cells and pathogen interactions with epithelial and endothelial layers.
The primary mission of our new journal is to break the barriers and bridge the gaps in the tissue barrier research field. We are seeking to create a forum for sharing discoveries and exchanging ideas between experts in basic developmental and cell biology, physiology, pharmacology, structural biology, bioengineering and clinical medicine. We will be happy to publish scientifically-sound speculations and debates on controversial subjects in the field. We plan to regularly reflect on progress being made in the most popular areas of tissue barriers research. Finally, we intend to highlight neglected and forgotten topics within the field some of which may be transformed into major future discoveries and breakthroughs.
The success of a new journal largely depends on professionalism and enthusiasm of contributing scientists. We are extremely fortunate to have a panel of outstanding experts on the Editorial Board whose interests include a wide range of fundamental and clinical aspects of tissue barrier research. Several distinguished scientists agreed to serve as Associate Editors to oversee and highlight specific topics of interest for Tissue Barriers. The Editorial Board members will help to develop the concept and direction for our journal and will participate in the review process. With our diverse and extensive Editorial Board we possess the capacity to conduct peer-review with a classic sensibility involving a rapid turnaround time for submitted papers and without excessive reviewer demands for additional experiments.
Tissue Barriers will publish several types of papers including: Original Research Papers, Brief Reports, Reviews, Clinical Reports, Commentaries and Views and Meeting Reports. We will also publish special issues that are devoted to rapidly developing or controversial areas of research. We hope that you share in our excitement about the new journal and will become a frequent contributor and reader of Tissue Barriers.
Footnotes
Previously published online: www.landesbioscience.com/journals/tissuebarriers/article/24240