Advances in Systemic Sclerosis Research in Japan

Dear Colleagues,

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a complex autoimmune disease characterized by fibrosis, vasculopathy and immune dysregulation. Japan has made significant contributions to elucidating the pathogenesis and developing novel therapeutic approaches for SSc, ranging from basic research to clinical and epidemiological studies. Recent advances include the identification of genetic and environmental risk factors, the discovery of key molecular pathways such as FLI1 and TGF-β signaling and the exploration of disease mechanisms involving vascular injury, fibroblast activation and immune cell dysfunction.

In addition, nationwide clinical and epidemiological studies have provided valuable insights into disease characteristics and treatment outcomes in Japanese patients. Notably, recent large-scale epidemiological research on juvenile-onset SSc has clarified its distinct clinical features and disease course compared with adult-onset SSc. These findings have deepened our understanding of disease heterogeneity and may guide tailored management strategies.

This Special Issue, “Advances in Systemic Sclerosis Research in Japan”, aims to highlight the latest progress in basic, clinical and epidemiological research conducted by Japanese investigators. By collecting original research articles and comprehensive reviews, this Issue seeks to provide an updated overview of the current understanding of SSc and to promote international collaboration toward improved patient care and precision medicine in this challenging disease.

Prof. Dr. Yoshihide Asano
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sclerosis is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1000 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.