Cell Metabolism: Why, and why now?

Abstract

In a time when scientific journals have proliferated in number, researchers studying metabolism and its disorders have faced an unusual problem. Despite the fact that metabolic diseases including obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and atherosclerotic heart diseases are among the most common, costly, and difficult to manage chronic conditions affecting mankind, there has not been a single forum for high-quality research in this broad, dynamic, and expanding area of research, until now. Basic metabolism, which following the birth of molecular biology appeared passé to many, is in the midst of a renaissance with the realization that many diseases, including those listed above, result from alterations in either newly defined or classic metabolic pathways. In aggregate, these diseases have emerged as the major sources of morbidity and mortality in the developed world and an increasing problem in the developing world. Patient studies over recent years have also shown that individuals who are clinically normal but have insulin resistance, increased central fat distribution, low plasma HDL, and high plasma triglycerides are at an especially increased vascular risk. This so-called “metabolic syndrome” has rightly become the focus of intense attention from the general public, health care providers, public health officials, and the pharmaceutical industry. These diseases have also attracted increasing attention from the scientific community, with transforming progress in our understanding of the molecular basis of metabolic disease and an explosion in the number of high-quality research reports. Despite this, no single journal has provided an adequate and focused forum for basic and clinical research on metabolism, the metabolic syndrome, and related areas. That is, scientists studying these problems have not had a journal whose table of contents is a “must read” each month. In Cell Metabolism, these scientists can give voice to their efforts to understand the molecular basis of metabolic disease, integrate metabolism and modern molecular science, and have a single place where they and the broader scientific community can track the stunning progress in these fields. Cell Metabolism will provide a forum for the publication of scientific articles of the highest quality and impact with relevance to research in the areas of obesity, diabetes, and related metabolic and cardiovascular disorders. This journal will also provide a forum for articles in the field of metabolism, broadly construed, including nutrition, aspects of genetics and gene-environment interactions, mitochondrial biology and energy expenditure, hormone action and signal transduction, epidemiology, bone physiology, and others. Cell Metabolism will capture the excitement that has accompanied recent advances including the identification of the signal transduction pathways by which cholesterol, glucose, and lipid are sensed, nutrient sensing by the TOR and AMPK pathways in vertebrates and invertebrates, studies of the effects of specific nutrients on gene expression and metabolism, sensing of Redox state by the transcriptional and cellular machinery, the role of the CNS in controlling behavior and metabolism, studies of energy metabolism in mitochondria, understanding peptide and nuclear hormone action, advances in our understanding of bone homeostasis, and others too numerous to list. Overlying this basic science are studies of the all too common diseases of obesity, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and the “metabolic syndrome.” A fuller understanding of the basis for the frequent association of the diseases that constitute “metabolic syndrome” is likely to fuel significant medical progress in their diagnosis and treatment. The fields of metabolism and metabolic disease are thus interdisciplinary, and Cell Metabolism will provide a monthly forum for basic and clinical researchers to follow each others’ progress. Metabolic disease is the subject of frequent and increasing attention from the general public. Despite this, basic scientists in this broad and expanding area have not had a “home” from which to express their views about the causes of metabolic disease and what to do about it. The lack of a forum to address policy issues and societal views has perhaps contributed to the simplistic view, held by much of the public, that metabolic disease is primarily a consequence of poor lifestyle choices and that a deeper understanding of the molecular basis of these conditions is not essential. This journal will thus also provide scientists with an opportunity to express their views, ultimately helping frame public discussion on what are the most prevalent disorders afflicting our population. This new journal will address a spectrum of unmet needs in the areas of metabolism and metabolic disease. Please welcome Cell Metabolism to your bookshelves.