Journal profile · MEDICINE, RESEARCH & EXPERIMENTAL
Molecular Therapy Nucleic Acids
ISSN 2162-2531 · Cell Press · UNITED STATES
Molecular Therapy Nucleic Acids: CAS Zone 2 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 6.1 (journal website); fully open access; APC about USD 3,900; median 184 days to acceptance (74 articles, last 24 months); 353 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus; flagged on an early-warning list or for an indexing change: check before submitting.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Molecular Therapy Nucleic Acids is published by Cell Press and is in Zone 2 of Medicine in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are RNA Interference and Gene Delivery, MicroRNA in disease regulation and Cancer-related molecular mechanisms research, together about 34.6% of its articles. Its main subfields are Molecular Biology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Molecular Therapy Nucleic Acids is an international, open-access journal publishing top-quality basic, translational, and clinical research in the broad fields of nucleic-acid-based therapeutics to treat and/or correct genetic and acquired disease. As an official journal of the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy, Molecular Therapy Nucleic Acids builds upon the success of Molecular Therapy in publishing important peer-reviewed research, cutting-edge reviews, and commentaries targeted to advances in gene- and oligonucleotide-based therapies. Molecular Therapy Nucleic Acids's 2024 impact factor is 6.1Subject areas include but are not limited to: development of therapeutics based on nucleic acids and their derivatives, vector development and design for the delivery of RNA-based therapeutics, applications of gene-modifying agents including triplex-forming oligonucleotides and enzymes such as Zn finger nucleases, pre-clinical target validation, nucleic acid immunity, safety/efficacy studies, and clinical trials.To accommodate the rapid growth of Molecular Therapy Nucleic Acids, starting in 2022, articles will be submitted and published in one of following subsections covering key topics.Subsections include:BioinformaticsAINGSmathematical modelingphylogenetic oligo arraysClinical applicationsOriginal research featuring clinical or translational studiesCase series or first-in-human trials with significant implicationsEarly-phase clinical trial results (phase I/II)Advanced preclinical research with strong potential for clinical translationDelivery strategieschemistryligandslipid nanoparticleslocalized delivery applicationspolymeric nanoparticlessystemic deliverytargeted deliveryviral vectorsNon-coding RNAscircRNAslncRNAsmiRNAssiRNAsregulatory guidelinesNucleic acid immunityNucleic acid sensing: mechanisms of innate immune recognition and signaling by DNA and RNA sensors, including TLRs, RIG I–like receptors, and cGAS.Pathway regulation: molecular control of activation, amplification, and resolution of nucleic acid–triggered innate immune signaling.Cell-autonomous antiviral immunity: antiviral restriction factors and nucleases involved in cell-autonomous antiviral immunityNucleic acid homeostasis: innate immune sensing of nucleic acid homeostasis and nucleic acid metabolismAltered self nucleic acids: alterations of self nucleic acids (oxidation, displacement, modification, cleavage, damage) that activate or inhibit nucleic acid immunityEvolutionary antiviral systems: restriction-modification enzymes, CRISPR-Cas, cyclic-oligonucleotide-based antiphage signaling system, and RNAi in antiviral immunityEngineered nucleic acids: design, development, and enzymatic or chemical synthesis of nucleic acids that modulate innate immune receptor activityNucleic acid therapeutics: strategies to prevent innate immune sensing in nucleic acid therapeutics (e.g., ASOs, small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), mRNAs, microRNAs (miRNAs), viral vectors)Therapeutic immune activation: therapeutic use of nucleic acids to induce innate immune activation (e.g., in cancer or infectious disease)Disease and aging: nucleic acid immunity and disease, including interferonopathies, lupus, neurodegeneration, and other aging-related diseases.Oligonucleotides: diagnostics and biosensorsaptamer-based biosensorsmolecular beaconsnanostructured biosensorsradiolabeled oligonucleotidesrolling circle amplification-based biosensorsOligonucleotides: therapies and applicationsclinical studiesCMCdevelopmentdiscoverypreclinical assessmentregulatory RNAsRNA/DNA editingADARCRISPRHDRNHEJTALENZFN
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): MEDICINE, RESEARCH & EXPERIMENTAL
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- RNA Interference and Gene DeliveryBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology13.4%
- MicroRNA in disease regulationBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology11.5%
- Cancer-related molecular mechanisms researchBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology9.7%
- CRISPR and Genetic EngineeringBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology8.2%
- Circular RNAs in diseasesBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology7.9%
- Advanced biosensing and bioanalysis techniquesBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology6.7%
- RNA modifications and cancerBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology6.4%
- RNA Research and SplicingBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5.1%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Medicine, Research & Experimental | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Medicine, Research & Experimental | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Medicine Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Medicine, Research & Experimental | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusDOAJLetPub
Early warning / risk: CAS Early Warning Journal List: listed in the 2021 edition (high risk); not listed in the other 5 editions.LetPub
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 (publisher) 2024
- 6.1Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 10.8LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 10.8Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 2.07LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.1LetPub ·
- h-index
- 43LetPub ·
- h-index
- 131OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 2,255OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 5.2OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 4.6%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 280LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 3,435 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 285 | 285 | 162 |
| 2025 | 353 | 353 | 1,821 |
| 2024 | 308 | 308 | 2,935 |
| 2023 | 301 | 301 | 5,333 |
| 2022 | 324 | 324 | 6,796 |
| 2021 | 336 | 336 | 12,083 |
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 PubMed · to
184 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 147 days – 235 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 2 days (74 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 187 days
- Sample
- 74 articles with submission and acceptance dates (727 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 20 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 138 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 23 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 | USD 3,900 | Yes | CC BY, CC BY-NC, CC BY-NC-ND | |
| OpenAlex | USD 3,900 / EUR 3,610 / GBP 3,120 / JPY 483,720 | — | — | |
| LetPub | USD 3,900 | Yes | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 3,900 | — | — |
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)
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access
- Open access Open Access
Article Publishing Charge (APC): USD 3,900 (excluding taxes).
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
- Cell Press
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2162-2531
- Society / sponsor
- American Society of …
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗DOAJ
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Molecular Therapy Nucleic Acids
What CAS zone is Molecular Therapy Nucleic Acids in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Molecular Therapy Nucleic Acids is in Zone 2 of Medicine, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Medicine, Research & Experimental; it is a Top journal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Medicine. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Molecular Therapy Nucleic Acids?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 6.1 (2024); this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 10.8, h-index 131.
How long does peer review take at Molecular Therapy Nucleic Acids?
Based on the dates recorded on 74 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 184 days (interquartile range 147–235 days); authors report an average review time of about 20 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.
Which databases index Molecular Therapy Nucleic Acids?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Molecular Therapy Nucleic Acids is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ.
Is Molecular Therapy Nucleic Acids open access, and what is the APC?
Molecular Therapy Nucleic Acids is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 3,900.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex, DOAJ; 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 2026-08-26). Last updated: .