Research — revised submissions

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Click here for a PDF checklist for your revised Research submission

Manuscript formatting

• Double-spaced throughout, including references and tables
  • Figure legends may be single spaced if necessary to keep a figure and its legend on the same page.
• All pages are numbered
• Each section begins on a new page

Journal style guidelines

• Standard JCI abbreviations and acronyms
  • Used without definition
  • All others are defined at first mention, with the abbreviated form appearing in parentheses — e.g., "sensory long-term facilitation (sLTF)" — and used without definition thereafter
• Gene and protein names and symbols
  • Conform to official NCBI Gene Nomenclature
  • Presented according to JCI Gene nomenclature and style
• Italicization
  • Generally reserved for gene symbols, genotypes, and species names
  • Terms such as in vivo, in vitro, etc., are not italicized
• Unpublished data, manuscripts in preparation or under review, and personal communications
  • Cite in the main text using the following model: (Jane L. Doe, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, USA, unpublished observations)
  • Submit written permission (an email is sufficient) to cite unpublished observations of someone outside the author’s research team.
• Reference citations
  • Appear in parentheses preceded by a space, e.g., “as described previously (1, 2)”; “several research groups (4–10) have found”
  • No superscript or other formatting
• Figure and table callouts
  • Figures and tables called out in numerical order
  • Appear in parentheses (no boldface or other formatting) unless grammatically part of the surrounding text: "the levels increased (Figure 1)"; "as exemplified in Figure 4B"
  • Spell out "Figure", "Table", "Supplemental Figure", "Supplemental Table", etc.
  • Parts called out as follows: "Figure 1A", "Figure 2, A and B", "Figure 3, B–D", "Figures 4–10"
  • A figure may be called out globally, without reference to individual parts (Figure 1 has parts A–D but is cited as “Figure 1”); but if specific parts are mentioned, then they must also be referenced in the text (e.g., Figure 1A is called out, so B–D must also be cited)

Manuscript content — Research

• Recommended text length: 9,000 words; maximum, 12,000 words (all text inclusive of title page, full text, references, figure legends, and tables)

Title page

• Manuscript title
  • Clear, descriptive, concise, and limited to 15 words, including conjunctions
  • Refers to the relevant disease or disease model studied
  • No subtitles, colons, periods, or nonstandard abbreviations
• Authors and affiliations
  • Full names of all authors (for example, “Jane L. Doe”) in the appropriate order
  • No titles, honorifics, degrees, or certifications
  • List of authors’ affiliations (departments, institutions, and locations, but not mailing addresses) during the period when the work was performed
  • Affiliation footnotes assigned consecutively using superscript numbers (1, 2, 3, etc.)
  • Corresponding author’s complete name, address, telephone number (including country code, where applicable), and email address
  • For authors whose affiliation has changed since completion of the work, specify the present affiliation and location below the numbered list
  • For consortiums/study groups shown as authors (e.g., CARDIoGRAM Consortium), list the individual members of each group and their affiliations in the supplemental material; add the following sentence to Acknowledgments: “See Supplemental Acknowledgments for consortium details.”
  • In an unnumbered footnote, clearly indicate any instances of shared senior or first authorship or of equal contributions.
• Conflict-of-interest statement
  • A statement consistent with the Journal’s conflict-of-interest policy. If no author has a conflict, include the following: “The authors have declared that no conflict of interest exists.”
  • If patents are involved, provide the patent or patent application number(s) and specify the names of the related authors.

Abstract

• Abstract of no more than 200 words stating the rationale, objectives, findings, and conclusions of the manuscript in a single paragraph without subheads (see below for Clinical Medicine abstracts)
• No primary data or references
• Define all nonstandard abbreviations.

Graphical abstract (recommended but optional)

• A single schematic image that visually represents the article’s primary findings
• Published graphical abstracts appear at the top of the page in the online version of the article.
• Details are available here.

Main text (presented in the following order)

• Introduction
• Results
• Discussion
• Methods
  • Sex as a biological variable
    • For any studies involving humans and/or animal models, include a paragraph at the beginning of Methods that details how the study design accounted for sex as a biological variable.
      • Specify which sex(es) were involved.
        • If only one sex was involved,
          • provide a scientific rationale;
          • explain whether the findings are expected to be relevant for more than one sex.
      • If sex was not considered as a biological variable, state this in the paragraph.
    • See Editorial policies and practices for examples.
  • Provide complete manufacturer name for each proprietary item used in experiments.
  • Animal models: Report the precise genotype, strain, number of backcrosses, sex, and age of animals studied.
  • Antibodies: Describe all antibodies used, including the source and catalog/clone number for commercial antibodies or a description (or reference to a description) of the generation of custom antibodies.
  • Cell lines: Indicate the source of all cell lines used.
  • Statistics
    • Methods of statistical analysis summarized in a stand-alone paragraph located near the end of Methods (right BEFORE “Study approval”).
    • Analysis appropriately corrects for multiple comparisons (i.e., more than 2 groups) and for repeated measures (i.e., multiple measurements within subjects). If samples were excluded from the analysis, incorporate a statement describing inclusion/exclusion criteria.
    • Define the P value used to determine significance; e.g., “A P value less than 0.05 was considered significant.”
    • Error bars: Define either in Statistics or in the figure legends; e.g., "Data represent mean ± SEM."
  • Study approval
    • Declaration of approval of human and animal studies by the appropriate institutional review board(s) in a stand-alone paragraph titled “Study approval” near the end of Methods (right BEFORE "Data availability).
    • Official name and location of the relevant review board(s) are specified.
    • For human studies, include a statement indicating that written informed consent was received prior to participation.
    • For photographs of patients, authors must provide a separate statement specifically indicating that written informed consent was received for the use of the photographs and that the record of informed consent has been retained. In general, images of faces should not be shown unless essential to the clinical message.
  • Data availability
    • In a paragraph at the end of Methods, specify how underlying data and supporting analytic code for the article can be accessed.
    • Large data sets for gene expression microarrays, SNP arrays, and high-throughput sequencing studies must be deposited in a public repository. Provide the accession number(s) in this paragraph. Deposition of other types of large data sets in a public repository is strongly encouraged.
    • Provide supporting data values for all data presented in graphical form or presented as means as a separate XLS document, with a callout in this paragraph (see below for details).
    • Any restrictions on data availability must be clearly stated (if applicable).

Author contributions

• Specify the contribution of each author (identified by initials) to the work.
• Examples: designing research studies, conducting experiments, acquiring data, analyzing data, providing reagents, and writing the manuscript
• Multiple contributions may be listed for a single individual, and more than one author may be associated with a single contribution.
• For manuscripts with 2 or more co–first authors, state the method used to assign the authorship order among these authors. For details, see the related JCI Editorial.

Acknowledgments

• State sources of support in the form of grants, equipment, or drugs.
• Other appropriate acknowledgments (for example, of other scientists for help or advice) may also be included.

References

• Prepared according to How to prepare references for submission
• Journal staff strongly encourages authors to use EndNote in Microsoft Word to ensure that the format is correct.

Figure legends

• Limited to 300 words
• Begin with stand-alone title, irrespective of the individual parts
• Use of symbols and abbreviations is consistent between legends and figures.
• In each figure legend where appropriate, describe the statistical test(s) used.
• Variance around the mean and statistical analysis should not be provided for figures representing fewer than 3 independent samples.
• Figure panels representing multiple experiments: report the exact number of samples (n).
• Representative experiments: report the number of times the experiment was conducted.
• Histological panels and insets: Define scale bars or specify total original magnification (power of objective × power of eyepiece) in the legends. For scale bars, definitions within the figures themselves may not be readable in a final published article. Note: for insets, use of "higher magnification" or similar is insufficient; exact magnification must be provided.
• Any instances in which images or data sets, including control data, are presented in multiple figure panels in the manuscript or supplement must be explicitly described in the figure legend.

Figures

• Prepared according to How to prepare figures for submission.
• Parts are labeled with capital letters: A, B, C, etc. Designated subparts within figures are not permitted (e.g., Figure 1B may not have subparts I and II).
• Graphs of quantitative data
  • Presented in a manner that clearly shows the distribution of data and variation, as either:
    • Dot plots, with the average and appropriate error bars indicated; OR
    • Box-and-whisker plots, with values defined in the legend (bounds of the boxes, lines within the boxes, whiskers, and any outlying values)
  • Columns with error bars (dynamite plunger plots) are not permitted.
• Blot and gel images: If lanes in blot or gel image of any kind are spliced together into a composite image, separate the lanes with a thin vertical line (black line for images with a gray background; white for those with a black background), and include a note in the legend that the lanes were run on the same gel but were noncontiguous. View Journal policy on blot/gel images.

Tables

• Prepared according to How to prepare tables for submission.
• Prepared in Word table format (not pasted in as an object from another application)
• Preceded by brief titles
• Callouts to footnotes (designated with superscript capital letters) are assigned alphabetically row by row.
• Parts within tables (for example, Table 1A and Table 1B) are not acceptable.
• Column heads apply consistently through all rows of the table.
• Each table is presented on its own page.
• Each table fits on a single page.

Supplemental material

• A single PDF includes supplemental methods, figures, tables, videos, appendices, etc., but excludes large data sets, spreadsheets, and videos.

Other accompanying files

• Unedited blot and gel images: A single PDF file that contains the unedited images for all cropped blots and gels in their entirety.
• Supporting data values: A single XLS file that provides all data in the manuscript and supplement represented in graphs and as mean ± standard deviation. Provide values for each applicable figure panel in a separate tab in the XLS file. For details, see How to prepare a Supporting Data Values file.
• These files will be published if the manuscript is accepted for publication.

Before submission, carefully review all supplemental and other accompanying files; they will not be checked by a copy editor. The Journal is not responsible for any errors contained in supplemental material.

Clinical Medicine — revised submissions

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• Reporting requirements

• Manuscript content

Click here for a PDF checklist for your revised Clinical Medicine submission

Reporting requirements for clinical trials

• In accordance with Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals, issued by the International Committee for Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), authors must provide specific information regarding the ethical treatment of research participants, patient consent, patient privacy, protocols, authorship, and competing interests.
• The JCI recommends that authors consult the Equator Network for a list of reporting guidelines for each study type.

Required supporting materials

• Structured abstract
• Conflict of interest documentation: Single PDF file of completed ICMJE uniform disclosure forms from all authors
• Clinical trial registration information
• Declaration of institutional review board approval and informed patient consent
• Flow diagrams and checklists appropriate to study type: Include the appropriate flow diagram as a figure in the manuscript, and the corresponding checklist in the supplemental material.
  • Randomized controlled trials (RCTs): CONSORT checklist (available here) and flow diagram. If appropriate, the CONSORT Checklist for Reporting of Harms in RCTs should be consulted.
  • Nonrandomized studies (NRSs): Transparent Reporting of Evaluations with Nonrandomized Designs (TREND)
  • Customized CONSORT checklists are available for the following trial types
    • Trial with parallel group design
    • Cluster-randomized trial
    • Noninferiority and equivalence randomized trial
    • Trial of herbal medicine intervention
    • Pragmatic trial
    • Trial of nonpharmacologic treatment
    • Neuro-oncology trials (phases I and II and surgery)

Manuscript formatting — Clinical Medicine

• Double-spaced throughout, including references and tables
  • Figure legends may be single spaced if necessary to keep a figure and its legend on the same page.
• All pages are numbered
• Each section begins on a new page

Journal style guidelines

• Standard JCI abbreviations and acronyms
  • Used without definition
  • All others are defined at first mention, with the abbreviated form appearing in parentheses — e.g., "sensory long-term facilitation (sLTF)" — and used without definition thereafter
• Gene and protein names and symbols
  • Conform to official NCBI Gene Nomenclature
  • Presented according to JCI Gene nomenclature and style
• Italicization
  • Generally reserved for gene symbols, genotypes, and species names
  • Terms such as in vivo, in vitro, etc., are not italicized
• Unpublished data, manuscripts in preparation or under review, and personal communications
  • Cite in the main text using the following model: (Jane L. Doe, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, USA, unpublished observations)
  • Submit written permission (an email is sufficient) to cite unpublished observations of someone outside the author’s research team.
• Reference citations
  • Appear in parentheses preceded by a space, e.g., “as described previously (1, 2)”; “several research groups (4–10) have found”
  • No superscript or other formatting
• Figure and table callouts
  • Figures and tables called out in numerical order
  • Appear in parentheses (no boldface or other formatting) unless grammatically part of the surrounding text: "the levels increased (Figure 1)"; "as exemplified in Figure 4B"
  • Spell out "Figure", "Table", "Supplemental Figure", "Supplemental Table", etc.
  • Parts called out as follows: "Figure 1A", "Figure 2, A and B", "Figure 3, B–D", "Figures 4–10"
  • A figure may be called out globally, without reference to individual parts (Figure 1 has parts A–D but is cited as “Figure 1”); but if specific parts are mentioned, then they must also be referenced in the text (e.g., Figure 1A is called out, so B–D must also be cited)

Manuscript content — Clinical Medicine

• Recommended text length, 9,000 words; maximum,12,000 words (all text inclusive of title page, full text, references, figure legends, and tables)

Title page

• Manuscript title
  • Clear, concise, and limited to 15 words, including conjunctions
  • Refers to the relevant disease or disease model studied
  • No subtitles, colons, periods, or nonstandard abbreviations
• Authors and affiliations
  • Full names of all authors (for example, “Jane L. Doe”); no titles, honorifics, degrees, or certifications
  • List of authors’ affiliations (departments, institutions, and locations, but not mailing addresses) during the period when the work was performed
  • Affiliation footnotes assigned consecutively using superscript numbers (1, 2, 3, etc.)
  • Corresponding author’s complete name, address, telephone number (including country code, where applicable), and email address
  • For authors whose affiliation has changed since completion of the work, specify the present affiliation and location below the numbered list.
  • For consortiums/study groups shown as authors (e.g., CARDIoGRAM Consortium), list the individual members of each group and their affiliations in the supplemental material; add the following sentence to Acknowledgments: “See Supplemental Acknowledgments for consortium details.”
  • In an unnumbered footnote, clearly indicate any instances of shared senior or first authorship or of equal contributions.
• Conflict-of-interest statement
  • A statement consistent with the Journal’s conflict-of-interest policy. If no author has a conflict, include the following: “The authors have declared that no conflict of interest exists.”
  • If patents are involved, provide the patent or patent application number(s) and specify the names of the related authors.

Structured abstract

• Maximum 250 words
• Study information summarized in the following sections:
  • Background. Provide context or background for the study and state the study’s primary objective or hypothesis in 1–2 sentences.
  • Methods. Describe the basic procedures used during the study, including selection of study participants and observational and analytical methods. Define the primary outcomes that were measured for each group of subjects.
  • Results. Summarize the main findings, including specific effect sizes and their statistical significance, if possible. Include (if relevant) the number of participants in each group, the primary outcome for each group, and any significant adverse events or side effects.
  • Conclusion. In 1–2 sentences, state the principal conclusions, emphasizing new and important aspects of the study or observations.
  • Trial registration. List the public registry and trial registration number, e.g., ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00950003.
  • Funding. List all sources.

Graphical abstract (recommended but optional)

• A single image that visually represents the article’s primary findings.
• Published graphical abstracts appear at the top of the page in the online version of the article.
• Details are available here.

Main text (presented in the following order)

• Introduction
• Results
• Discussion
• Methods
  • Sex as a biological variable
    • For any studies involving humans and/or animal models, include a paragraph at the beginning of Methods that details how the study design accounted for sex as a biological variable.
      • Specify which sex(es) were involved.
      • If only one sex was involved,
        • provide a scientific rationale;
        • explain whether the findings are expected to be relevant for more than one sex.
      • If sex was not considered as a biological variable, state this in the paragraph.
    • See Editorial policies and practices for examples.
  • Provide complete manufacturer name for each proprietary item used in experiments.
  • If applicable, provide the following details:
  • Animal models: Report the precise genotype, strain, number of backcrosses, sex, and age of animals studied.
  • Antibodies: Describe all antibodies used, including the source and catalog/clone number for commercial antibodies or a description (or reference to a description) of the generation of custom antibodies.
  • Cell lines: Indicate the source of all cell lines used.
  • Statistics
    • Methods of statistical analysis summarized in a stand-alone paragraph located near the end of Methods (right BEFORE “Study approval”).
    • Analysis appropriately corrects for multiple comparisons (i.e., more than 2 groups) and for repeated measures (i.e., multiple measurements within subjects). If samples were excluded from the analysis, incorporate a statement describing inclusion/exclusion criteria.
    • Define the P value used to determine significance; e.g., “A P value less than 0.05 was considered significant.”
    • Error bars: Define either in Statistics or in the figure legends; e.g., "Data represent mean ± SEM."
  • Study approval
    • Declaration of approval of human and animal studies by the appropriate institutional review board(s) in a stand-alone paragraph titled “Study approval” near the end of Methods (right BEFORE "Data availability).
    • Official name and location of the relevant review board(s) are specified.
    • For human studies, include a statement indicating that written informed consent was received prior to participation.
    • For photographs of patients, authors must provide a separate statement specifically indicating that written informed consent was received for the use of the photographs and that the record of informed consent has been retained. In general, images of faces should not be shown unless essential to the clinical message.
  • Data availability
    • In a paragraph at the end of Methods, specify how underlying data and supporting analytic code for the article can be accessed.
    • Large data sets for gene expression microarrays, SNP arrays, and high-throughput sequencing studies must be deposited in a public repository. Provide the accession number(s) in this paragraph. Deposition of other types of large data sets in a public repository is strongly encouraged.
    • Provide supporting data values for all data presented in graphical form or presented as means as a separate XLS document, with a callout in this paragraph (see below for details).
    • Any restrictions on data availability must be clearly stated (if applicable).

• Author contributions
  • Specify the contribution of each author (identified by initials) to the work.
  • Examples: designing research studies, conducting experiments, acquiring data, analyzing data, providing reagents, and writing the manuscript.
  • Multiple contributions may be listed for a single individual, and more than one author may be associated with a single contribution.
  • For manuscripts with 2 or more co–first authors, state the method used to assign the authorship order among these authors. For details, see the related JCI Editorial.
• Acknowledgments
  • State sources of support in the form of grants, equipment, or drugs.
  • Other appropriate acknowledgments (for example, of other scientists for help or advice) may also be included.

References

• Prepared according to How to prepare references for submission
• Journal staff strongly encourages authors to use EndNote in Microsoft Word to ensure that the format is correct.

Figure legends

• Limited to 300 words.
• Begin with standalone title, irrespective of the individual parts.
• Use of symbols and abbreviations is consistent between legends and figures.
• In each figure legend where appropriate, describe the statistical test(s) used.
• Figure panels representing multiple experiments: report the exact number of samples (n).
• Representative experiments: report the number of times the experiment was conducted.
• Histological panels and insets: Define scale bars or specify total original magnification (power of objective × power of eyepiece) in the legends. For scale bars, definitions within the figures themselves may not be readable in a final published article. Note: for insets, use of "higher magnification" or similar is insufficient; exact magnification must be provided.
• Any instances in which images or data sets, including control data, are presented in multiple figure panels in the manuscript or supplement must be explicitly described in the figure legend.  

Figures

• Prepared according to How to prepare figures for submission
• Parts are labeled with capital letters: A, B, C, etc. Designated subparts within figures are not permitted (e.g., Figure 1B may not have subparts I and II).
• Graphs of quantitative data
  • Presented in a manner that clearly shows the distribution of data and variation, as either:
    • Dot plots, with the average and appropriate error bars indicated; OR
    • Box-and-whisker plots, with values defined in the legend (bounds of the boxes, lines within the boxes, whiskers, and any outlying values)
  • Columns with error bars (dynamite plunger plots) are not permitted.
• Blot/gel images: If lanes in a blot or gel image of any kind are spliced together into a composite image, separate the lanes with a thin vertical line (black line for images with a gray background; white for those with a black background), and include a note in the legend that the lanes were run on the same gel but were noncontiguous. View Journal policy on blot/gel images.

Tables

• Prepared according to How to prepare tables for submission.
• Prepared in Word table format (not pasted in as an object from another application)
• Preceded by brief titles
• Callouts to footnotes (designated with superscript capital letters) are assigned alphabetically row by row.
• Parts within tables (for example, Table 1A and Table 1B) are not acceptable.
• Column heads apply consistently through all rows of the table.
• Each table is presented on its own page.
• Each table fits on a single page

Supplemental material

• A single PDF includes supplemental methods, figures, tables, videos, appendices, etc., but excludes large data sets, spreadsheets, and videos.

Other accompanying files

• Unedited blot and gel images: A single PDF file that contains the unedited images for all cropped blots and gels in their entirety.
• Supporting data values: A single XLS file that provides all data in the manuscript and supplement represented in graphs and as mean ± standard deviation. Provide values for each applicable figure panel in a separate tab in the XLS file. For details, see How to prepare a Supporting Data Values file.
• These files will be published if the manuscript is accepted for publication.

Before submission, carefully review all supplemental and other accompanying files; they will not be checked by a copy editor. The Journal is not responsible for any errors contained in supplemental material.

Letter to the Editor — revised submissions

[Top of page]

Click here for a PDF checklist for your revised Letter to the Editor submission

Manuscript formatting

• Adherence to word limits and figure size is a requirement for the Letter to the Editor format. Revisions will be returned upon submission of the manuscript to address these issues.
• Maximum length, 850 words (all text inclusive of title page, full text, references, and figure legend or table)
• Limit of 1 display item (1 figure or 1 table)
• Double-spaced throughout, including references
• All pages are numbered

Journal style guidelines

• Standard JCI abbreviations and acronyms
  • Used without definition
  • All others are defined at first mention, with the abbreviated form appearing in parentheses — e.g., "sensory long-term facilitation (sLTF)" — and used without definition thereafter
• Gene and protein names and symbols
  • Conform to official NCBI Gene Nomenclature
  • Presented according to JCI Gene nomenclature and style
• Italicization
  • Generally reserved for gene symbols, genotypes, and species names
  • Terms such as in vivo, in vitro, etc., are not italicized
• Reference citations
  • Appear in parentheses preceded by a space, e.g., “as described previously (1, 2)”; “several research groups (4–10) have found”
  • No superscript or other formatting
• Figure or table callout
  • Appears in parentheses (no boldface or other formatting) unless grammatically part of the surrounding text: "the levels increased (Figure 1)"; "as exemplified in Figure 1B"
  • Spell out "Figure" or "Table"
  • Parts called out as follows: "Figure 1A", "Figure 1, A and B", "Figure 1, B–D"
  • A figure may be called out globally, without reference to individual parts (Figure 1 has parts A–D but is cited as “Figure 1”); but if specific parts are mentioned, then they must also be referenced in the text (e.g., Figure 1A is called out, so B–D must also be cited)

Manuscript content — Letter to the Editor

Title

• No subtitles, colons, periods, or nonstandard abbreviations
• Clear, concise, and limited to 15 words, including conjunctions
• Authors and affiliations
  • Full names of all authors (for example, “Jane L. Doe”); no titles, honorifics, degrees, or certifications
  • List of authors’ affiliations (departments, institutions, and locations, but not mailing addresses)
  • Affiliation footnotes assigned consecutively using superscript numbers (1, 2, 3, etc.)
  • Corresponding author’s complete name, address, telephone number (including country code, where applicable), and email address
• Conflict-of-interest statement
  • A statement consistent with the Journal’s conflict-of-interest policy. If no author has a conflict, state: “The authors have declared that no conflict of interest exists.”

Main text

References

• Limited to 5
• Must include the original JCI article
• See How to prepare references for submission

Figure or Table

• See How to prepare figures for submission
• Figure legend: maximum 200 words
• Table must fit on a single page in portrait orientation

Accompanying files (if applicable)

• Unedited blot and gel images: A single PDF file that contains the unedited images for all cropped blots and gels in their entirety.
• Supporting data values: A single XLS file that provides all data in the manuscript and supplement presented in graphs and as mean ± standard deviation. Provide values for each applicable figure panel in a separate tab in the XLS file. For details, see How to prepare a Supporting Data Values file.
• These files will be published if the manuscript is accepted for publication.
• Before submission, carefully review all accompanying files; they will not be checked by a copy editor. The Journal is not responsible for any errors contained in supplemental material.