Journal of Tissue Repair and Regeneration · JTRR
Aims and Scope
Repair restores the continuity of a tissue. Regeneration restores its structure and function. This journal publishes research on both, and on the cells, materials, models and methods that make either one testable — across every tissue and organ system, from fundamental biology through to clinical practice.
- ISSN
- 2640-6403
- Access
- Open access, peer reviewed
- Breadth
- All tissues and organ systems
- Contributions
- Biological, methodological, translational, clinical
What belongs in this journal
The Journal of Tissue Repair and Regeneration considers research whose contribution is to the understanding, measurement or practice of tissue repair and regeneration. Fundamental studies of the processes that drive repair and applied work on the technologies that support it carry equal standing in the remit.
A manuscript is assessed on the connection it establishes to the field. Where that connection is substantive, established methods, nonclinical models and work that confirms and extends earlier findings all belong here. Relevant contributions may include mechanistic insight, clinical or translational evidence, methodological development or evaluation, observational or descriptive characterization, replication, synthesis, or other work that makes a substantive contribution to understanding, assessing, or advancing tissue repair or regeneration; no single outcome type is required.
What a submission is asked to establish
Explain the contribution to tissue repair or regeneration and its biological, methodological, translational, or clinical relevance, as applicable.
The two sides of a study
In regenerative work a finding is often a correspondence: something applied — a cell population, a molecule, a scaffold, a device, a procedure — and the tissue, model or material that responded to it. Naming both sides, and what was measured between them, is the clearest way to show where a manuscript sits in this field.
Cells, molecules and vectors
A tissue, wound or culture system
Scaffolds, biomaterials and devices
A tissue interface or material system
Procedures and therapeutic strategies
Patient tissue in a clinical setting
And where only one side is present
Many contributions sit on one side of that correspondence and are read the same way: a material characterized on its own terms, a model or measurement method offered for others to use, a computational study of tissue mechanics, a review that consolidates a body of evidence. Each is asked the same question — what does the work contribute to repair or regeneration, and how.
Research domains
These domains describe where most submissions fall. They are the areas the journal assesses, and work that clearly advances tissue repair or regeneration is welcome whether or not it is named among them.
Mechanisms of repair and regeneration
Cell signaling in healing and regeneration; stem and progenitor cell biology, differentiation and cell-fate determination; extracellular matrix remodeling and fibrogenesis; epithelial–mesenchymal transition; apoptosis, autophagy and cell survival; growth-factor biology and cytokine networks; developmental principles applied to adult repair.
An example of the kind of study that fitsA mechanistic account of TGF-β signaling in myofibroblast differentiation during dermal wound healing, with validation in an animal model.
Inflammation, immunity and the vascular response
Immune and inflammatory control of healing; macrophage and stromal cell behavior in repair; angiogenesis and revascularization of injured and engineered tissue; endothelial function; the tissue microenvironment and its modulation.
Wound healing and tissue pathophysiology
Acute and chronic wounds; impaired and diabetic healing; scar formation, fibrosis and keloid pathogenesis; epithelial and barrier restoration; tissue biomechanics and mechanobiology; changes in regenerative capacity with age.
Biomaterials and scaffolds
Design, synthesis and characterization of natural and synthetic materials; porosity, architecture and degradation behavior; hydrogels, nanofibers and composites; three-dimensional bioprinting and additive manufacturing; surface modification and functionalization; nanomaterial and delivery approaches; biomaterial–cell interaction and biocompatibility assessment.
An example of the kind of study that fitsElectrospun collagen–polycaprolactone scaffolds of controlled porosity for cartilage tissue engineering, with chondrocyte culture and mechanical testing.
Tissue engineering and regenerative therapies
Engineered constructs for tissue and organ replacement; cardiac, neural, skeletal, cartilage, hepatic, renal and intestinal applications; vascularization strategies for engineered tissue; cell therapy, including mesenchymal and induced pluripotent stem cells; gene and molecular engineering, delivery systems and control of gene expression applied to repair.
Hard tissue, dental and implant interfaces
Bone and cartilage repair; osteogenesis, chondrogenesis and osteointegration; implant surfaces and the tissue response at the interface; tooth, periodontal and other oral tissue regeneration.
Models, imaging and measurement
In vitro systems, organoids and organ-on-chip platforms; animal models of injury and repair; imaging, histology, spectroscopy and real-time monitoring of regeneration — including work whose contribution is the method itself.
An example of the kind of study that fitsA reproducible organ-on-chip platform for measuring epithelial barrier restoration, published with the data that establish its performance.
Computational and data-driven approaches
Modeling of tissue mechanics and repair dynamics; machine learning applied to regenerative outcomes; computational design and screening of biomaterials; bioinformatics in regenerative medicine.
Clinical and translational research
Preclinical and translational studies that carry laboratory work toward practice; reconstructive surgery combined with regenerative approaches; clinical series, case reports and clinical trials in tissue repair.
Neighboring fields, and how they are read
Several fields overlap with tissue repair and regeneration without being contained by it. Work from these areas belongs here when the repair or regeneration contribution is substantive and the manuscript sets it out.
- Stem cell and cell biology
- Fits where the work addresses repair or regeneration, or the cell populations used to achieve them.
- Biomaterials science
- Relevant where the material, its properties, or its behavior in a biological setting is investigated in a way that makes a substantive contribution to tissue repair or regeneration, including development, characterization, evaluation, or application for that purpose.
- Computational and engineering research
- Considered where the model, algorithm or process answers a repair or regeneration question.
- Clinical research
- Suited to this journal where the study concerns the repair or regeneration of tissue itself, rather than the general management of a condition in which injury features.
- Bioprocess engineering
- Within the remit where it addresses the manufacture of cells, tissues or materials for repair or regeneration.
- Cord blood and other cell sources
- Assessed on the regenerative cell-therapy contribution the work makes.
- Comparative work in plant and other non-animal systems
- Read for the insight it gives into repair and regeneration in animal systems. This remains a journal of animal and human tissue.
Where the link to tissue repair or regeneration is incidental, the work is better served by a journal in its primary field.
Scope fit and editorial assessment are separate judgments
Scope fit answers one question: does the work contribute to tissue repair or regeneration? It is settled ahead of the assessment of scientific quality, ethical compliance and reporting adequacy, and it is separate from the editorial decision itself.
All submissions undergo initial editorial screening. Manuscripts that meet the journal's scope and minimum requirements proceed to independent peer review.
Single-blind by default; double-blind review is available on request. Manuscripts that proceed to external peer review are normally evaluated by at least two independent subject-matter experts.
Editorial decisions are based on scope, scientific quality, methodological rigor, ethical compliance, reporting quality, and relevance to the journal.
Reporting standards across the scope
The evidence a manuscript needs follows its study design rather than its subject area.
- Reporting guidelines
- ARRIVE for animal studies, CONSORT for clinical trials, STROBE for observational studies, PRISMA for systematic reviews, and MIQE for quantitative PCR.
- Data availability
- Every empirical research manuscript must include a data-availability statement. Deposition of the underlying data in a public repository is encouraged, and protocols and datasets may accompany the manuscript as supplementary material.
- Research ethics
- Studies involving human participants or animals carry approval from the responsible review body — an institutional review board or an animal care and use committee — and follow the Declaration of Helsinki where it applies, with documented informed consent.
- Preprints
- Deposition on bioRxiv, medRxiv or arXiv is welcome, and a preprint remains eligible for consideration here.
Requirements for each article type — structure, limits and required sections — are set out in the instructions for authors, and the journal's editorial policies hold the full publishing terms.
Manuscript formats
JTRR considers manuscript formats supported by its current publishing framework where the submission is substantively relevant to tissue repair or regeneration. Authors should consult the journal’s Instructions for Authors for current manuscript-format and preparation guidance.
Deciding whether your work fits
If the work advances the repair or regeneration of tissue, in any of the ways set out above, this journal will consider it. The submission page sets out every route open to you.