Journal profile · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology-Cell Biology
BMC Molecular and Cell Biology
ISSN 2661-8850 · BioMed Central · ENGLAND · Founded 2000
BMC Molecular and Cell Biology: CAS Zone 3 · Biology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 3.03; fully open access; APC about USD 2,590; median 137 days to acceptance (79 articles, last 24 months); 38 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
BMC Molecular and Cell Biology is published by BioMed Central and is in Zone 3 of Biology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are MicroRNA in disease regulation, Microtubule and mitosis dynamics and Cancer-related molecular mechanisms research, together about 17.7% of its articles. Its main subfields are Molecular Biology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
BMC Molecular and Cell Biology is an open access peer-reviewed journal that considers articles on all aspects of cellular and molecular biology in both eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells. The journal considers studies on functional cell biology, molecular mechanisms of transcription and translation, biochemistry, as well as research using both the experimental and theoretical aspects of physics to study biological processes and investigations into the structure of biological macromolecules. The journal welcomes manuscripts in the following broad sub-topics of cellular and molecular biology Cell cycle and cell division Cell death Cell migration and adhesion Developmental and stem cell biology Membrane processes/transport Metabolism Molecular basis of disease Protein Homeostasis Signalling Structure and function of macromolecules Transcription and translation As a BMC Series journal, BMC Molecular and Cell Biology does not make editorial decisions based on the perceived interest or potential impact of a study. Manuscripts are considered for publication if they are scientifically valid. For research articles, this includes having a clearly defined and sound research question, appropriate methodology and analysis, and adherence to community-agreed standards relevant to the field.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology-Cell Biology
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- MicroRNA in disease regulationBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology6.5%
- Microtubule and mitosis dynamicsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5.6%
- Cancer-related molecular mechanisms researchBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5.6%
- Genomics and Chromatin DynamicsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5.2%
- Cellular Mechanics and InteractionsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5.2%
- RNA modifications and cancerBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4.9%
- Mesenchymal stem cell researchMedicine4.3%
- Epigenetics and DNA MethylationBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4.3%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Biology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Cell Biology | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Biology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Cell Biology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Biology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Cell Biology | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
MEDLINEEmbaseCASPublisher website
Other: Google Scholar, ProQuest, Dimensions, CNKI, Baidu, Naver, OCLC, Portico, CLOCKSS
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 3.03LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 3Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2.9Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 5.6LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.81LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.71LetPub ·
- h-index
- 33OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 181OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.3OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 37LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 886,100Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 409 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 35 | 35 | 11 |
| 2025 | 38 | 38 | 72 |
| 2024 | 29 | 29 | 152 |
| 2023 | 35 | 35 | 339 |
| 2022 | 61 | 61 | 730 |
| 2021 | 59 | 59 | 1,065 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
137 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 97 days – 230 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 9 days (79 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 154 days
- Sample
- 79 articles with submission and acceptance dates (82 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 27 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 14 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 27 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Single anonymous peer reviewDOAJ
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Fully open accessDOAJ
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | EUR 2,150 / USD 2,590 / GBP 1,850 | Yes | CC BY, CC BY-NC-ND | |
| OpenAlex | USD 2,390 / EUR 1,990 / GBP 1,690 | — | — | |
| LetPub | GBP 1,590 / USD 2,290 / EUR 1,890 | Yes | — | |
| Publisher website | GBP 1,850 / USD 259 / USD 2,590 / EUR 2,150 | — | — |
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Open calls for papers3, by deadline
Publisher websiteWhat to prepare2 items from the author guidelines
- Reference style
- Numbered, in order of citation
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
Article types accepted6
- commentResearch article Review Matters Arising Comment Database article Software articleLength not stated
- database articleResearch article Review Matters Arising Comment Database article Software articleLength not stated
- matters arisingResearch article Review Matters Arising Comment Database article Software articleLength not stated
- research articleResearch article Review Matters Arising Comment Database article Software articleLength not stated
- reviewResearch article Review Matters Arising Comment Database article Software articleLength not stated
- software articleResearch article Review Matters Arising Comment Database article Software articleLength not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteData availability, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review
- Data availability Formatting the 'Availability of data and materials' section of your manuscript
The following format for the 'Availability of data and materials section of your manuscript should be used:
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Licensing and copyright
Creative Commons licences Open access articles in Springer Nature journals are published under Creative Commons licences. These provide an industry-standard framework to support easy re-use of open access material. Under Creative Commons licences, authors retain copyright of their articles. BMC Molecular and Cell Biology articles are published open access under a CC BY-NC-ND (Creative Commons Attr…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Benefits of open access
Publishing open access (OA) offers a number of benefits, including greater reach and readership for your work: Cited more 1.6x more citations of OA articles than non-OA articles across all subjects Downloaded more 4x more downloads of OA articles than non-OA articles Greater impact 2.5x more Altmetric attention. OA articles attracted 1.9x more news mentions and 1.2x more policy mentions Open acces…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review policy
Peer review is the process used to evaluate the quality of a manuscript before publication. Independent researchers in the relevant field assess submitted manuscripts to check their validity and robustness. Their feedback guides editors in making publication decisions. Typically, two or more experts evaluate each manuscript based on three main criteria: scientific robustness: is the research metho…
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- BioMed Central
- Country or region
- ENGLAND
- Language
- English
- Founded
- 2000
- ISSN
- 2661-8850
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about BMC Molecular and Cell Biology
What CAS zone is BMC Molecular and Cell Biology in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, BMC Molecular and Cell Biology is in Zone 3 of Biology, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Cell Biology. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Biology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of BMC Molecular and Cell Biology?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 3.03; CiteScore 5.6, h-index 33.
How long does peer review take at BMC Molecular and Cell Biology?
Based on the dates recorded on 79 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 137 days (interquartile range 97–230 days); authors report an average review time of about 27 weeks. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of BMC Molecular and Cell Biology?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Reference style: Numbered, in order of citation; Suggested reviewers: Optional. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Which databases index BMC Molecular and Cell Biology?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, BMC Molecular and Cell Biology is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists MEDLINE, Embase and CAS; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is BMC Molecular and Cell Biology open access, and what is the APC?
BMC Molecular and Cell Biology is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 2,590.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, DOAJ, Publisher website; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-25). Last updated: .