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Gene Therapy
Instructions for authors
Editors
Nicholas Lemoine, London, UK
Joseph C Glorioso, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Editorial policy
Gene Therapy covers both the research and clinical applications of the new genetic therapy techniques currently being developed. The application of molecular biology has revolutionised our understanding of many diseases and has been readily applied for diagnostic purposes. Over the last decade, gene therapy protocols have entered clinical trial in increasing numbers. Covering a wide spectrum of diseases, these studies promise to unite the diverse organ based specialities into which modern medicine has become divided. Gene Therapy covers all aspects of gene therapy as applied to human disease including preclinical animal experiments, novel platform technologies for gene transfer and gene expression analysis. Papers are sent for review to at least two experts in the field. Papers will be accepted if they contribute original material that is likely to be of interest to readers involved in the field of gene therapy and clinical applications are particularly encouraged.
Authors are asked to write their manuscripts in English using an easily readable style. Spelling and phraseology should conform either to standard English or to standard American usage and should be consistent throughout the paper (eg haematological, leukaemia, centre or hematologic, leukemia, center).
A manuscript will be considered for publication on the understanding that all named authors have agreed to its submission and that if accepted it will not subsequently be published in the same or similar form in any language without the consent of the publishers. The editors also encourage submission of review articles on relevant topics and recent developments.
Submission of papers
To expedite publication and accuracy, authors are encouraged to submit their manuscripts on disk both at submission and resubmission stage. The disk should contain the paper saved in its original application (e.g. Wordperfect or Microsoft Word), also as RTF (rich text format) if available, and as ASCII (plain) text. The disk should be clearly labelled with your name, paper title, file names and the application used. Whether or not a disk is submitted, four printed copies (one original and three photocopies) of the paper are also required.
Presentation
As either the disk (if available) or the printed original will provide the basic material for typesetting, it is important that papers are prepared in the general editorial style of the journal, with particular attention being paid to the layout of references (see below). The document should be typed double-spaced with a wide margin using one side of the paper only. Any special points should be emphasised in the covering letter from the submitting author. The paper should be arranged as follows:
- Title page
- Summary and keywords
- Introduction
- Results
- Discussion
- Materials (or Patients) and methods
- Acknowledgements
- References
- Tables
- Figures
The title page should bear the title of the paper, the full names of the authors and their affiliations together with the name, full postal address, and telephone, fax and e-mail numbers of the author to whom correspondence and reprint requests are to be sent. There should be a running title of not more than 50 letters and spaces and from three to six keywords. The Summary should not exceed 200 words. It should be written in a style that conveys the essential message of the paper in abbreviated form. The Introduction should assume that the reader is knowledgeable in the field and should therefore be as brief as possible. In the materials and methods section, methods that have been published in detail elsewhere should not be described in detail. SI units should be used throughout the text.
Authors are asked to include with the copies of their manuscript a short covering letter that draws the editors’ attention to any relevant points. The letter should be signed by the corresponding author and include telephone, fax and e-mail numbers (where available).
References
Only papers closely related to the author’s work should be quoted. Exhaustive lists should be avoided. References should follow the Vancouver format. In the text they should appear as superscript numbers outside punctuation starting at 1. At the end of the paper they should be listed (double-spaced) in numerical order corresponding to the order of citation in the text. All authors should be quoted for papers with up to four authors; for papers with more than four authors, the first one should be quoted followed by et al. Abbreviations for titles of medical periodicals should conform to those used in the latest edition of Index Medicus. The first and last page numbers for each reference should be provided. Abstracts and letters must be identified as such. Papers in press and papers already submitted for publication may be included in the list of references. No citation is required for work that is not yet submitted for publication.
Personal communications may be referred to in the text but are not to be listed in the references. Authors must obtain permission from the individual concerned to quote his or her unpublished work.
Examples of references
Journal article, up to four authors:
1 Sargent CA, Dunham I, Campbell RD. Identification of multiple HTF-island associated genes in the human major histocompatibility complex class III. EMBO J 1989; 8: 2305-2312.
Journal article, in press:
2 Gallardo RL, Juneja HS, Gardner FH. Normal human marrow stromal cells induce clonal growth of human malignant T-lymphoblasts. Int J Cell Cloning (in press).
Journal article submitted for publication:
3 Ohno H, Takimoto G, Mckeihan TW. The candidate proto-oncogene bcl-3 is related to genes implicated in cell lineage determination and cell-cycle control (submitted for publication).
Complete book:
4 Gordon MY, Barre AJ. Bone Marrow Disorders: the Biological Basis of Clinical Problems. Blackwell Scientific Publications: Oxford, 1985, pp 51-56.
Chapter in book:
5 Greenberger JS. Long-term hematopoietic cultures. In: Golde DW (ed). Hematopoiesis. Churchill-Livingstone: New York, 1984, pp. 203-242.
Abstract:
6 Feig SA et al. Bone marrow transplant for neuroblastoma. Exp Hematol 1985; 13 (Suppl. 2): 362 (Abstr. 102).
Letter to the Editor:
7 Raum D, Alper CA, Stein R. Genetic markers for insulin dependent diabetes mellitus. Lancet 1985; i: 106 (letter).
Tables
Each table should be numbered consecutively with an Arabic numeral. Each should have a separate caption or title. Methods not described in the text and abbreviations should be explained at the foot of the Table. Tables should be referred to specifically in the text of the paper.
Figures
Figures should be numbered in numerical order with Arabic numerals. Each figure should have a title and a detailed legend, as appropriate, listed consecutively on a separate sheet of paper titled ‘Titles and legends to figures’. Figures should be referred to specifically in the text of the paper. Figures, including photographs, line drawings or graphs, should be submitted as glossy prints about 1.5 times final size. The original paper and the copies should include photocopies of the figures: only one original of each illustration is required in addition to the photocopies. Figures drawn by computer graphics are acceptable for publication provided the print-out is adequate. The use of ‘three-dimensional’ histograms is strongly discouraged when the addition of the third dimension gives no extra information.
Colour photographs can be reproduced if necessary but the authors will be expected to contribute towards the cost of publication.
If available, the additional supply of figures on disk in TIFF or EPS format would be appreciated.
Authors must include a self-addressed envelope should they require artwork to be returned.
Editorials or brief reviews
Editorials or brief reviews will be solicited by the editors but suggestions for such material are very welcome.
Brief communications
Brief communications will have a shorter format than full length papers so that Introduction, Results and Discussion will be merged into a single report. Materials and methods will be included as legends to figures and tables. The upper limit will be five journal pages including figures.
Editorial office
Manuscripts and other editorial correspondence should be sent to one of the Editorial offices:
Nicholas Lemoine
Specialist Journals
Nature Publishing Group
Houndmills Road
Basingstoke
RG21 6XS
UK
Joseph C Glorioso
Department of Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry
School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh
E1246 Biomedical Science Tower
Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA
Proofs and Copyright
A marked copy of the proofs will be sent to the principal author who should read them carefully for errors, and return them to the Publisher as soon as possible. Major alterations to the text cannot be accepted at this stage. The principal author will be asked before publication to assign the world copyright in the article to Nature Publishing Group.
Offprints
Twenty-five offprints will be supplied free of charge to the principal author. Additional offprints may be ordered on the form accompanying the proofs. The charges are necessarily higher if orders for reprints are received after the issue has gone to press.
Business matters
Business correspondence and enquiries relating to advertising, subscriptions, back issues or reprints should be addressed to the relevant person at Nature Publishing Group, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS, UK. Tel +44 1256 329242; Fax +44 1256 810526.
Last Updated 21 March 2001
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