A comprehensive overview in Melanogenesis: A Visualization and Bibliometric Analysis of 2012-2022 (Preprint)

Abstract

BACKGROUND Melanin plays an essential role in determining human skin color. Melanogenesis is a process in which tyrosine is catalyzed by a variety of enzymes to form melanin granules. Dysfunction in melanogenesis leads to skin diseases including abnormal skin pigmentation – melasma, and vitiligo among others. The research progress of melanogenesis affects the development of skincare products. Hence, the research field of melanogenesis has become a hotspot in dermatology in the past decade. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to set up a bibliometric analysis of melanogenesis research in the latest 10 years. METHODS We downloaded the articles from the Web of Science Core Collection, using the subject term "melanogenesis", with a timespan starting from 2012 to 2022. The “bibliometrix” package of R, “Citespace” and “VOSviewer” software were used to perform content and bibliometric mapping analysis in melanogenesis research. RESULTS After refining, 2930 articles were retained. The distribution of annual publications showed an increased tendency. The geographical distribution revealed that scientific productions in Asia got ahead of Europe, North America and other areas in the field. The USA has cooperated most with other countries. The Seoul Natl University was the most productive organization. 70 % of melanogenesis-related papers were published in journals with impact factor (IF) 0-4, 27% within IF 5-9 and 3% in journals with IF above 10. The main research contents probe into ultraviolet radiation, mechanism, medicines and therapy, genes, melanosome development, microenvironment, signal pathways, inflammation factors, and skin whitening from 830 high-frequency keywords. The number of research themes increased over years. Early studies focused on melanogenesis inhibitors or tyrosinase activity and symptoms of melanogenesis disorders. However, in recent years, miRNA, RNA seq, microenvironment, aging, immunity and other aspects have been continuously studied. CONCLUSIONS The research field of melanogenesis is in a booming stage. As the quality of published articles increases, the diversity of research topics is increasing. CLINICALTRIAL None