Forging the way: pioneering regeneration in volume 19 of Regenerative Medicine

Content highlights of 2023

With an ever-evolving field, we continued to publish several articles across a wide range of topics including clinical translation, cell therapy, tissue engineering, regulation and government policy.

At the time of writing, our most read article was a review from the April issue titled “The promise of autologous and allogeneic cellular therapies in the clinical trials of autism spectrum disorder”. In the article, analyzing both autologous and allogenic therapies, the authors provide an overview of different approaches in stem-cell therapy for autism spectrum disease [1]. Analyzing approaches using mesenchymal stem cells, bone marrow stem cells, cord blood stem cells and fetal stem cells, Shanmin et al. emphasized the need for more controlled studies with larger sample sizes to determine the long-term safety and efficacy of these therapies.

A short communication by Watanabe et al. titled “International evaluation study of a highly efficient culture assay for detection of residual human pluripotent stem cells in cell therapies”, was our second most read article published in 2023. Given that human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) are intrinsically tumorigenic and can form teratomas, the use of these residual undifferentiated hPSCs remains a challenge in cell therapy products. The article describes an international collaborative effort to evaluate the feasibility of a highly efficient culture assay to detect residual undifferentiated hPSCs using a standardized protocol. The study confirmed that this method could successfully be utilized for tumorigenicity assessment [2].

Moving over to the regulation and government policy, our top perspective from 2023 was “Modeling policy development: examining national governance of stem cell-based embryo models”, by Fabbri et al. Amidst growing interest in stem cell-based embryo model research, the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) revised their guidelines to provide clear guidelines on how to proceed with this research within ethical limits. Comparing the national policies of 11 research-intensive countries with the ISSCR guidelines, the authors of this study discuss ways in which the countries can mitigate the remaining ethical and regulatory uncertainty of SCB-EM through policy reform [3].

A summary of the top five most read articles from volume 18 of Regenerative Medicine can be found in Table 1.

Citations are an informative indication for determining the impact of a published article. A special mention goes to our top three most cited articles from Regenerative Medicine in 2023.

• The aforementioned perspective article by Fabbri et al. from our February issue titled “Modeling policy development: examining national governance of stem cell-based embryo models” [3].

• A short communication from our May issue titled “Association of mesenchymal stem cells derived from bone marrow and adipose tissue enhances bone repair in rat calvarial defects” [6].

• A review from our February issue titled “Exosomes: the latest in regenerative aesthetics” [7].

Regenerative Medicine continues to collaborate with Altmetric to provide authors with an insight into the impact of their work in global news outlets and social media. Along with being the most read article in 2023, the highest performing article by Altmetric score was the review by Shamim et al. titled “The promise of autologous and allogeneic cellular therapies in the clinical trials of autism spectrum disorder” [1].

This was followed by a research article by Harris et al. titled “Mesenchymal stem cell-derived neural progenitors attenuate proinflammatory microglial activation via paracrine mechanisms”. In the study, the researchers identified microglia as the potential therapeutic target for a cell therapy utilizing mesenchymal stem cell-derived neural progenitor cells [5]. The study findings are significant as they are the first to identify microglia as the potential target, leading to an improved understanding of how well patients respond to this cell therapy.

Demographics

As the field of regenerative medicine continues to grow, we have seen a continued increase in our readership, with most readers located in North America, closely followed by Asia and Europe (Figure 1).

This year, we also saw an increase in the number of papers by authors from Europe and Asia (Figure 2). We expect to see continued growth as the field continues to expand, and we remain committed to collaborating with authors from every continent and look forward to seeing an increase in the number of authors based in South America and Africa.

RegMedNet

Regenerative Medicine proudly partners with our sister site RegMedNet, a freely accessible platform that unites the regenerative medicine and advanced therapies communities, boasting over 26,000 members [8]. RegMedNet's mission is to promote global collaboration, propelling the field of regenerative medicine forward.

Our partnership with RegMedNet provides a unique opportunity to expand the readership and impact of research published in Regenerative Medicine. One illustration of this collaboration can be seen in our ‘peek behind the paper’ interview with Kristina Hug, where we explore the question, “How proven is a ‘proven intervention’?” Such features serve as a platform for sharing research findings with a broader audience, offering insight into significant challenges, wider implications, and future steps.

As well as providing additional perspectives on research findings, RegMedNet remains dedicated to delivering insights beyond academia. This commitment is exemplified by our recurring Industry Updates column, authored by Dusko Ilic (King's College London, UK), a member of the Regenerative Medicine Editorial Board. In addition to granting access to the complete Industry News articles featured in each journal issue, Ilic shares his insights and viewpoints on recent industry advancements exclusively with the RegMedNet community.

Regenerative Medicine and RegMedNet jointly support an ever-expanding, diverse, and multidisciplinary community, which is mirrored in our content. Our commitment remains steadfast in delivering a crucial analysis of the evolving landscape of regenerative medicine, tracking its journey through clinical trials and its eventual integration into mainstream medical practice.

The Glossary for Advanced Therapies: 6th Edition

In 2023, the Regenerative Medicine and RegMedNet editorial teams collaborated with an international expert advisory panel, representing academia, industry and healthcare, to develop the sixth edition of The Glossary for Advanced Therapies [9]. Over the years, both Regenerative Medicine and RegMedNet has evolved into a valuable resource, serving not only academic audiences but also patients, clinicians, advanced therapy manufacturers, and policymakers and this edition of the glossary reflects that. This is the most extensive edition yet, encompassing over 800 terms that span a diverse spectrum of topics, enabling the community to align terminology across sectors, research stages and countries. It's been a pleasure working on this project throughout 2023, and we hope that our readers will find it useful for gaining further insight into the world of regenerative medicine.

Social media

Regenerative Medicine's social media presence has continued to grow throughout 2023. We are delighted to have over 3300 followers on the journal's X (formerly Twitter) account (@Regen_Med) [10]. The journal also continues to provide a platform for the regenerative medicine community through our LinkedIn page that is open to all [11]. Readers can keep up to date with journal updates including newly published articles and the latest industry news.

Conclusion

We are grateful for the feedback that we receive, and would be delighted to hear from you for up-and-coming topics you feel the journal could cover.

Should you be interested in submitting an article to the journal, we encourage unsolicited research, review and opinion articles, among others. For more information on this, please visit our website [12].

The Regenerative Medicine editorial team would like to take this opportunity to thank our contributing authors, peer reviewers and Editorial Board members for their continued support and guidance as we continue to deliver the latest research developments in regenerative medicine. We look forward to working with you over the next year.