Bibliometric analysis of single-cell sequencing researches on immune cells and their application of DNA damage repair in cancer immunotherapy

Abstract

Introduction: In recent decades, single-cell sequencing technology has developed rapidly and used widely in various fields of life sciences, especially for the detection of immune cells. A bibliometric analysis of single-cell sequencing research work on immune cells published during the 2011-2021 period should provide new insight on the use of single-cell sequencing.

Methods: We screened 1,460 publications on single-cell sequencing on immune cells according to the publication date, article type, language, and country.

Reults: The United States published the first and largest number of articles, while China's research started relatively late, but ranked second in the number of publications. T cells were the most commonly studied immune cells by single-cell sequencing, followed by mononuclear macrophages. Cancer biology was the most common field of immune cell research by single-cell sequencing. Single-cell sequencing studies using γδ T cells were mainly in the fields of cancer biology and cell development, and focused over time from cell surface receptor to cell function. Through in-depth analysis of the articles on single-cell sequencing of T cells in the oncology field, our analysis found that immunotherapy and tumor microenvironment were the most popular research directions in recent years.

Discussion: The combination of DNA damage repair and immunotherapy seems to provide a new strategy for cancer therapy.

Keywords: DNA damage repair; T cell; bibliometric analysis; immune cells; immunotherapy; single-cell sequencing.