Towards enrichment of Human Cell

Abstract

Basic and clinical research activities relating to human cells have attracted attention in recent years not only in the field of medicine, but in a diverse range of other fields as well, and interest in this subject among researchers is growing steadily. Despite these circumstances, however, there are few opportunities for intensively and comprehensively presenting and discussing research relating to human cells, and it is not easy to gather the latest information. In consideration of this situation, the Human Cell Research Meeting (Nihonn Hito Saibou Kennkyukai) was established in 1983 in response to a growing number of people earnestly seeking the establishment of an institution allowing the comprehensive presentation of research findings and exchange of opinions by persons in various fields, and the publication of a technical journal relating to human cells. The official journal of this society was first published in 1998 under the title ‘Human Cell’. In 1990, this research meeting further evolved into the Japan Human Cell Society, and Human Cell was reborn as the official technical journal of this society. This publication was registered in Index Medicus and PubMed starting in 1992, and has also recently risen to the level of registration in INIS Atomindex (online edition). An editorial branch office for this publication was opened in the USA 2 years ago, and preparations are also underway to open an editorial branch office in Europe as well. Eighteen volumes of Human Cell have been published thus far. In recent years, cell lines derived from various human organs and tissues have become a crucial component of research on subjects such as cell metabolism, genetic analyses, physiologically active substances produced in the body and regenerative medicine. One of the characteristics of Human Cell is the large number of papers it contains on cell line derivation. Basic research using animals is required to develop regenerative medicine into a safe and reliable treatment, and this publication accepts papers on research using animal cells. In the future, it will be necessary to rapidly dispatch outstanding research to researchers around the world, as well as increase the readership of Human Cell. As the first step in achieving this, it has been decided to commission the publication of Human Cell to Blackwell Publishing (having its head office in Australia) starting with the 19th volume, with the intention of providing a better international publication. Human Cell will be distributed to more than 1000 libraries throughout the world in the form of an electronic journal by taking advantage of international information networks. It is therefore hoped that Human Cell will continue to evolve into a leading international publication.