MISSIONS AND SCOPES 

CJASN Mission

The Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN) focuses on advances in kidney disease care worldwide and provides a platform for people living with kidney diseases to address issues of importance to them.

CJASN Scope

CJASN publishes submissions advancing person-centered kidney care, with featured sections including clinically focused cover images, "Kidney Case Conference" for bedside clinical application, "Kidney Health Watch" presenting population health data, "Kidney Cross-Talk" for multidisciplinary clinical discussions, "Trainees’ Spotlight" offering trainee-relevant perspectives, and Series covering timely topics like lifestyle medicine and home dialysis.

JASN Mission

The Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN) publishes high-impact research to advance the understanding and treatment of kidney diseases, including physiology, pathobiology, and person-centered care.

JASN Scope

JASN publishes original research advancing the understanding and care of kidney diseases through laboratory, translational, and clinical studies. JASN welcomes articles describing results of high-quality clinical trials, high-impact epidemiological investigations, and public policies affecting the United States.​ Featured sections include “Designing Clinical Trials,” focusing on clinical trial principles in kidney disease research; “Innovator Corner,” highlighting new targets, biomarkers, and devices in nephrology; “Clinical Nephrology Insights,” providing state-of-the art reviews of diagnostic tests and treatments or their complications for kidney diseases or its complications; and “Mechanisms of Kidney Diseases,” exploring the pathophysiology, systemic effects, and treatment outcomes of kidney diseases. JASN publishes the ASN Kidney Health Guidance, which is intended to assist clinicians with the interpretation and integration of evolving scientific evidence into practice by addressing key questions facing the kidney care team.

Kidney360 Mission

Kidney360 is an online-only, open-access journal that publishes research on kidney diseases and care and provides a global platform for diverse clinical care models and perspectives in nephrology.

Kidney360 Scope

Kidney360 publishes research across diverse nephrology areas, covering Case Reports (coming in 2026), Global Perspective highlighting international differences in nephrology management, and Debates in Nephrology exploring controversial issues.​

The following table summarizes the requirements for article types:

*Includes Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion.​​
**1200 words if manuscript has a figure or table.
***Inclusive of abstracts, preprints, and websites.​
****Supplemental Material for Research Letters is limited to brief additional and absolutely necessary methods. It cannot include any additional results or discussion.​

Original Research: CJASN, JASN, and Kidney360 publish full-length articles reporting scientific advances in the field of nephrology.

CJASN articles are limited to results of research studies undertaken in humans with kidney diseases. JASN and K360 publish articles in areas of basic and clinical science relevant to the broad discipline of nephrology. Basic Research articles are allowed 4500 words, including the Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion. ClinicalResearch​ articles are allowed 3500 words, including the Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion.

Categories include the following:

• ​Acid Base and Electrolyte Disorders
  
• Acute Kidney Injury and ICU Nephrology
  
• Chronic Kidney Disease
  
• Clinical Nephrology
  
• Cystic Kidney Disease
  
• Development of the Kidney
  
• Diabetes and the Kidney
  
• Dialysis
  
• Genetics
  
• Glomerular and Tubulointerstitial Diseases
  
• Hypertension
  
• Nephrolithiasis
  
• Normal Kidney Structure and Function
  
• Renal Repair
  
• Research Design and Methods (Kidney360 only)​
• Transplantation ​
  

For Original Research manuscripts, ASN journals will consider initial submissions that are not formatted according to the journal's specifications. If a revision is requested, manuscripts should adhere to the formatting guidelines listed below​

Research Letters: Research Letters are concise, focused reports that describe results of research that is limited in scope to a specific finding or observation. ​Supplemental Material is limited to brief additional and absolutely necessary methods. Supplemental Material cannot include any additional results or discussion. This generally implies that figures and tables should not be included in Supplemental Material unless required to describe the research methods.​

Editorials: Editorials are brief invited opinion pieces related to original research published in the same issue. Editorials provide commentary and add context to the subject area, highlighting the importance of the related original research.

Perspectives: Perspectives address topical issues, controversies, recent scientific developments, or novel observations relevant to any aspect within the broad compass of nephrology and hypertension, from basic science to public policy. They may challenge dogma or present a distinctive point of view. Articles should be timely and engaging. For particularly controversial topics, the Editors may solicit a counterpoint Perspective.

Reviews: Reviews summarize and interpret existing literature on topics of interest to readers. Authors should strive for a balanced, scholarly analysis in areas with opposing points of view. Note: A systematic review and/or meta-analysis should utilize the PRISMA standards and be submitted as an Original Research manuscript.

Letter to the Editor: Letters to the Editor can be submitted for one or more of the following reasons in response to an original research article recently published in the journal: 

• to discuss controversial aspects of a recently published paper, e.g., methodological concerns which may affect validity, concerns on study conduct, disagreements with study interpretation or conclusions; 
• to seek clarification on any aspect of a paper; and/or
• to enrich the existing knowledge of a recently published paper or hot topic with professional opinions or objective data.

Letters to the Editor can comment on original research articles within 90 days of online publication. The authors of the original research article will be given the opportunity to submit an Authors’ Reply to the Letter to the Editor. 

Authors’ Reply​: Authors may receive an invitation to submit an Authors' Reply to a Letter to the Editor. If authors accept the invitation, the Authors' Reply must be submitted to the Editorial Manager submission and review system within 10 days of receipt of the invitation. The Letter to the Editor and the Authors' Reply will publish online on the same day and appear in the same issue. Replies are limited to four authors, 400 words, and four references, one of which should be the article under discussion. Figures, tables, and Supplemental Material are not allowed. 

​CJASN-Only Article Types

Patient Voices and Series: These articles are submitted by invitation only.

Kidney Case Conference (How I Treat): These articles are intended to help clinicians apply current knowledge at the bedside.

Kidney Cross-Talk: The goal of this article type is to highlight key aspects of multidisciplinary clinical care related to kidney disease and other health disciplines.

Trainees' Spotlight: These articles discuss topics of relevance to trainees from nephrology-related disciplines and are authored by trainees and/or mentors.

Kidney Health Watch:​ Articles highlight population health data on chronic kidney disease, acute kidney injury, and end-stage kidney disease (including dialysis and kidney transplantation), and feature information from the CDC Chronic Kidney Disease Surveillance Project, insights of the USRDS, and US and international kidney disease cohorts. 

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JASN-Only Art​icle Types​

Clinical Nephrology Insights: These articles provide a state-of-the art review of diagnostic tests and treatments or their complications for kidney diseases or its complications.  Articles are expected to contain a balanced view of the literature, free from commercial bias.  While these articles are directly solicited by the Editors, de novo submissions are welcome for consideration.

Designing Clinical Trials: Articles are meant to describe the application of key components of clinical trials to kidney disease–related research, covering (1) elements of clinical trial design, performance, and interpretation with 1–2 key elements on which to focus; (2) an illustrative example of the clinical trial type in nephrology; and (3) future potential and applications for kidney disease–related research. The table should describe the elements of the trial design.

Innovator Corner:JASNsolicits inventors of novel patented technologies to describe the development effort of new targets/biomarkers/devices. These articles allow for the rapid dissemination and implementation of new technologies relevant to nephrology. Innovator Corner articles should provide (1) a background of the problem that it seeks to address, (2) the patented solution, and (3) current status of commercialization.

​Mechanisms of Kidney Diseases: These articles summarize the current understanding of the pathophysiology and mechanisms underlying kidney diseases, the effects of kidney diseases on other organs, or the consequences of treatment for such diseases. While these articles are generally solicited directly by the Editors,de novo submissions by authors are encouraged for editorial review.

Obituary: These articlesare limited to current and former ASN Councilors, ASN Journal Editors-in-Chief, and recipients of ASN lifetime awards​.

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Kidney360-Only Art​icle Types​

Case Report: ​These articles highlight interesting, unique, and/or novel cases that add to the scientific literature. Articles should be organized in the following format: Unstructured Abstract, Introduction, Case Description, Discussion, References. Authors must provide a statement confirming that patient consent was received.

Debates in Nephrology:Debates in Nephrology is an article format for controversial issues and other hot topics. There will be a collection of 3 companion papers: “Pro” and “Con” views of a selected topic and a “Moderator Commentary.”

Global Perspective:These brief articles have a specific global focus. They are designed to highlight the international differences in the medical management and financing of various topics in clinical nephrology, including acute and chronic kidney disease, dialysis, and kidney transplantation. Please note that at least one author must be a practicing nephrologist in the country of interest.

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Transfers:If a manuscript is deemed not suitable for one ASN journal, authors can choose to have their manuscript transferred to another ASN journal, eliminating the repetitive steps of submission. Submitting authors may indicate their transfer preference at the time of initial submission to any ASN journal. As the flagship journal,JASNwill transfer manuscripts toCJASNandKidney360 but cannot receive transfers from either journal.

The transfer includes uploaded files, reviewer comments, and the decision letter. The transferred comments from the Editors and reviewers will be used at the discretion of the receiving journal's editorial team. Authors do not need to modify their manuscript to address reviewer comments prior to the transfer.

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FORMAT AND PROCESS​

Style Guide:ASN journals follow the American Medical Association (AMA) style guide, which includes updated nomenclature for kidney function and disease, as developed during KDIGO's Consensus Conference on Nomenclature for Kidney Function and Disease. ​

Formatting:For Original Research manuscripts, ASN journals will consider initial submissions that are not formatted according to the journal’s specifications. Invited material should adhere to the formatting requirements indicated in the submission invitation. The Editors recommend downloading the latest style list from EndNote to ensure proper reference formatting. ​

Manuscript Extraction:During the initial submission process, the Editorial Manager system will scan for and extract certain information from the main manuscript file and automatically enter it into the submission form, simplifying the process. Please upload the main manuscript file as a Word document, and the Editorial Manager system will extract the title/subtitle, short title, authors, affiliations, corresponding author information, and abstract. To ensure that the information is extracted correctly from the main manuscript file, please review theBest Practices for Preparing Submission Files for Xtract Manuscript Extraction​ prior to submission. 

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​Manuscript Components (for Original Research):

• ​Title Page
• Structured Abstracts

Title page: The title page should include the manuscript title; all authors' full names (first name, middle initial, last name) and institutions (department, institution, city, state if applicable, and country); the name, address, and email address of the corresponding author; the word count for the abstract; the word count for the text, excluding references; and the number of figures and tables.

Title:Descriptive titles are preferred, but declarative titles are welcome if the work makes a direct causal link. Titles should be 18 words or less and can include a subtitle to describe the study type (e.g., randomized controlled trial or systematic review and meta-analysis). ​

Key Points:Original Research manuscripts should include up to three key points. The key points must identify the most relevant outcomes of the paper and provide a synopsis encapsulating the significance of the research and its implications for readers. They should be complete sentences written in the past tense. The use of abbreviations is discouraged. Each key point should be no more than 140 characters, including spaces. 

Abstract:The abstract should consist of four paragraphs labeled as follows:

• ​Background
  
• Methods
• Results
• Conclusions

The results should be presented in past tense. The use of abbreviations is strongly discouraged. Any abbreviations used in the abstract must be defined. Restrict the conclusions to those directly supported by the study data.​

Methods: The information provided in the Methods section must be readable and complete enough to give the reader a fundamental understanding of what studies were performed and the core principles of the methodology. Describe the study design, population(s), exposure(s) or intervention(s), primary outcome, and analytic methods. It should include, as appropriate, oversight of animal or human studies, the population studied, animals used, cell lines and/or the data resources used, the experimental design(s), outcome measures and measurement methods, and the statistical analytic methods used. Additional technical information about methods may be included in the Supplemental Material, but reference to Supplemental Material should not be needed to understand the core experimental steps and principles. Authors are encouraged to ensure that the description of the study design, analytic approach, and presentation of results meets the standards for publication by reviewing the relevant checklist(s) available.

Authors are encouraged to use accurate and inclusive language to describe race and ethnicity in research. For additional guidance, see the article “Use of Race in Kidney Research and Medicine: Concepts, Principles, and Practice."

​Results:Follow these guidelines for the presentation of data within the text, tables, and figures:

• ​Please include the most relevant numeric data, such as sample size, numbers of events, important unadjusted or raw values such as event rates or distributions of exposure or outcome variables, and key measures of association with estimates of statistical confidence (such as 95% confidence intervals).​
  
• All descriptive data for patients should be presented to the decimal place commonly used in clinical practice (such as age and estimated glomerular filtration rate in whole numbers, hemoglobin and albumin to one decimal place).​
• For descriptive data, percentages >1% should be presented as whole numbers. Should authors prefer to make an exception, please justify.​
• The use ofP values for describing intergroup differences when describing the study cohort, such as the data presented in Table 1 of the manuscript, is strongly discouraged for observational studies and not allowed for prespecified analyses of randomized controlled clinical trials.​
• For parameter estimates (e.g., relative risks, hazard ratios, b values), use 95% confidence intervals whenever possible rather thanP values.​
• Do not use “NS" forP values; provide the actualP values.​
• P values should have only two significant decimal places; however, lower values (e.g., 0.002) are acceptable. Values smaller than 0.001 should be listed as <0.001.
• All laboratory data should be presented using US conventional units.​
• For each table and figure, provide sufficient context for readers to interpret the results without extensive reference to the accompanying text by using titles that clearly define the population, exposure, and outcome assessed, as well as footnotes that define cell contents, all abbreviations, and any unusual statistical approaches.

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