Global scientific trends on the immunomodulation of mesenchymal stem cells in the 21st century: A bibliometric and visualized analysis

Abstract

BackgroundSince the discovery of the immunomodulatory functions of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), their application in immunomodulation has attracted considerable attention, and an increasing number of studies have been conducted worldwide. Our research aimed to investigate the global status and trends in this field.MethodsPublications on the immunomodulatory functions of MSCs from 1 January 2000 to 7 March 2022 were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection. The data were studied and indexed using the bibliometric methodology. Visualization analysis, co-authorship, co-occurrence analysis, and publication trends in MSC immunomodulation were conducted using the VOSviewer software.ResultsIn total, 4,227 papers were included in the study. The number of publications and research interests has significantly increased globally. China published the highest number of related articles, while the US published articles with the highest number of citations. Stem Cell Research & Therapy had the highest number of publications. Sun Yat-sen University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Harvard University, and Seoul National University were the most contributive institutions. Furthermore, the studies were divided into four research hotspots for MSC immunomodulation: MSC immunomodulation in regenerative medicine, the effects and mechanisms of MSC immunomodulation, MSC therapy for immune diseases, and the cell source of MSCs.ConclusionThis study indicates that the number of publications on MSC immunomodulation will increase in the future, and MSC immunomodulation mechanisms and clinical applications of MSC immunotherapy should be the next hotspots in this research field.

Spotlight on macrophage pyroptosis: A bibliometric and visual analysis from 2001 to 2023

“…The CiteSpace [ [10] , [11] , [12] ] (version 6.1.R3, developed by Chaomei Chen in Philadelphia, PA, USA) and VOSviewer [ [13] , [14] , [15] ] (version 1.6.18, developed by CWTS Meaningful Metrics in Leiden, Netherlands) software were used for scientometric and bibliometric analysis, respectively. The primary study authors, regions/countries, institutional cooperation, and future research trends were obtained by evaluating the centrality intensity and co-occurrence visualization diagrams.…”

Mesenchymal Stromal Cells as a Driver of Inflammaging

“…Currently, MSCs-therapy spread as an effective tool for a range of autoimmune and immune-mediated inflammatory diseases [ 14 ]. MSCs were found to exhibit a unique immunoregulatory effect on immune cells, i.e., T- and B-lymphocytes, NK-cells, macrophages and dendritic cells [ 15 ]. Since 2000, both experimental and clinical studies have shown the effectiveness of MSC transplantation for graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) [ 15 ].…”

Bibliometric Analysis of Anesthetic Drugs’ Effects on Immune Function- Current Knowledge, Hotspots and Future Perspectives

“… 13 This type of research employs mathematical and statistical tools to explicitly and statistically analyze the scientific movement, including the interrelationships between countries, institutions, authors, journals, and keywords. 14 Additionally, bibliometric analysis has been applied to mesenchymal stem cells on immunomodulatory functions, 15 single-cell sequencing on immune cells. 16 However, a bibliometric analysis of anesthetics drugs’ impact on immune function has not been reported in the literature thus far.…”