Special Issue on‘‘Biomarkers for Autoimmune Diseases’’

The journalGenomics Proteomics&Bioinformatics(GPB)is now inviting submissions for a special issue(to be published in the summer of 2015)on the topic of‘‘Biomarkers for Autoimmune Diseases’’.

Autoimmune diseases(AIDs)are the third most common category of disease after cancer and heart disease and affect more than 5%of the general population.AIDs result from a complex interaction of genetic and epigenetic variations as well as triggering environmental factors.In the past decades,multi-omics approaches,including genomics, transcriptomics,epigenetics,proteomics and metabolomics,have been widely applied in the studies of AIDs and have led to the discovery of various biomarkers.The area of‘‘biomarkers’’in AIDs covers a wide variety of topics including predisposing genetic variations(e.g.,SNPs),disease susceptibility genes,epigenetic modification(e.g.,DNA methylation and microRNAs),autoantibody profiling and metabolic molecules,etc.In particular, high-throughput techniques,such as microarray and next-generation sequencing(NGS),have generated large amount of data,which in combination with various data analysis platforms, facilitated the discovery of multiple disease biomarkers and assessment of genes,proteins, metabolites and network analysis of complex biologic or pathways implicated in specific AID conditions.Comprehensive understanding of the relationship between the biomarkers and AIDs will not only provide valuable tools for disease prediction,early diagnosis and prognosis,but also shed light on the identification of novel therapeutic targets for treatment of the diseases.

We are pleased to announce a special issue on‘‘Biomarkers for Autoimmune Diseases’’to provide a platform for publication of high-quality papers on recent advances and developments in this important area.Drs.Edward Wakeland and Quan-Zhen Lifrom University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center areGuest Editorsof this issue.The topics may include(but not be limited to):

? Genetic biomarkers of autoimmune diseases

? Epigenetic biomarkers for autoimmune diseases

? Transcriptomic biomarkers for autoimmune diseases

? Proteomic biomarkers for autoimmune disease,including autoantibody profiling and multiplex cytokines

? Metabolomic biomarkers for autoimmune diseases

? High-throughput platforms for biomarker discovery in autoimmune diseases

? Application of biomarkers in the diagnosis and prognosis of autoimmune diseases

Original studies,reviews,methods,application notes,etc.are all welcome.The portfolio will be open for incoming manuscripts tillMarch 31,2015.

Manuscripts can be submitted online at http://ees.elsevier.com/gpb/.The Guide for Authors is also available on this web site.Note to mention that the submission is for this special issue.No publication charge will be applied for the manuscripts selected for the special issue.

For further information,please contact us:

Dr.Wakeland(edward.wakeland@utsouthwestern.edu);

Dr.Li(Quan.Li@UTSouthwestern.edu);

The Editorial Office of GPB(editor@big.ac.cn).