Global trends in research of fibroblasts associated with rheumatoid diseases in the 21st century: A bibliometric analysis

Runzhi Huang; Minghao Jin; Yifan Liu; Yuwei Lu; Mengyi Zhang; Penghui Yan; Shuyuan Xian; Siqiao Wang; Hao Zhang; Xinkun Zhang; Shaofeng Chen; Bingnan Lu; Yiting Yang; Zongqiang Huang; Xin Liu; Shizhao Ji

doi:10.3389/fimmu.2023.1098977

Global trends in research of fibroblasts associated with rheumatoid diseases in the 21st century: A bibliometric analysis

Front Immunol. 2023 Feb 10:14:1098977. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1098977. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Runzhi Huang^{1

2}, Minghao Jin³, Yifan Liu³, Yuwei Lu³, Mengyi Zhang³, Penghui Yan⁴, Shuyuan Xian⁵, Siqiao Wang⁵, Hao Zhang⁶, Xinkun Zhang⁵, Shaofeng Chen⁷, Bingnan Lu³, Yiting Yang³, Zongqiang Huang⁴, Xin Liu⁸, Shizhao Ji^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Burn Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital of Naval Medical University, Shanghai, China.
² Research Unit of Key Techniques for Treatment of Burns and Combined Burns and Trauma Injury, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.
³ Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
⁴ Department of Orthopedics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China.
⁵ Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
⁶ Department of Orthopedics, Naval Medical Center of People's Liberation Army (PLA), Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China.
⁷ Department of Orthopedics, the First Affiliated Hospital of Naval Medical University, Shanghai, China.
⁸ Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Second Affiliated Hospital of Naval Medical University, Shanghai, China.

Abstract

Background: Rheumatoid Diseases (RDs) are a group of systemic auto-immune diseases that are characterized by chronic synovitis, and fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLSs) play an important role in the occurrence and progression of synovitis. Our study is the first to adopt bibliometric analysis to identify the global scientific production and visualize its current distribution in the 21st century, providing insights for future research through the analysis of themes and keywords.

Methods: We obtained scientific publications from the core collection of the Web of Science (WoS) database, and the bibliometric analysis and visualization were conducted by Biblioshiny software based on R-bibliometrix.

Results: From 2000 to 2022, a total of 3,391 publications were reviewed. China is the most prolific country (n = 2601), and the USA is the most cited country (cited 7225 times). The Center of Experimental Rheumatology at University Hospital Zürich supported the maximum number of articles (n = 40). Steffen Gay published 85 records with 6263 total citations, perhaps making him the most impactful researcher. Arthritis and Rheumatism, Annals of Rheumatic Diseases, and Rheumatology are the top three journals.

Conclusion: The current study revealed that rheumatoid disease (RD)-related fibroblast studies are growing. Based on the bibliometric analysis, we summarized three important topics: activation of different subsets of fibroblasts; regulation of fibroblast function; and in vitro validation of existing discoveries. They are all valuable directions, which provide reference and guidance for researchers and clinicians engaged in the research of RDs and fibroblasts.

Keywords: bibliometrics; fibroblast-like synoviocytes; fibroblasts; rheumatoid arthritis; rheumatoid diseases; systemic sclerosis.

Publication types

Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Arthritis, Rheumatoid*
Bibliometrics
Fibroblasts
Humans
Male
Rheumatic Diseases*
Synovitis*

Grants and funding

This study was supported in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81930057, 81772076, 81971836, 81801620), CAMS Innovation Fund for Medical Sciences (2019-I2M-5-076), Deep Blue Talent Project of Naval Medical University, 234 Academic Climbing Programme of Changhai hospital and Achievements Supportive Fund (2018-CGPZ-B03); Henan medical science and technology research project (No. 201602031); Key project of provincial and ministerial co-construction of Henan Medical Science and Technology (No. SBGJ202002031). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.