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The Future Landscape of Macrophage Research in Cardiovascular Disease: A Bibliometric Analysis
Xia Xu1, Yajiao Wang1, Yumeng Li1
1Department of General Internal Medicine, Guang'anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.
Insights
This bibliometric analysis reveals key trends in cardiovascular disease (CVD) research focusing on macrophages. It highlights major research hubs, influential keywords like inflammation and autophagy, and emerging topics such as COVID-19
Area of Science:
- Immunology and cardiovascular research.
- Bibliometric analysis of scientific literature.
Background:
- Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are a leading cause of death globally, imposing significant economic burdens.
- Macrophages play a critical role in inflammatory and immune responses, and their dysregulation is implicated in CVD development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze research trends, key contributors, and emerging topics in the field of macrophages in CVD.
- To provide insights for future research directions in this domain.
Main Methods:
- Bibliometric analysis of 7,197 articles and reviews published between 1990 and 2022.
- Utilized CiteSpace and VOSviewer for literature retrieval and analysis from the Web of Science core collection.
Main Results:
- Annual publications show a general upward trend, with the United States leading in articles, citations, and research institutions.
- Key research areas include inflammation, immunology, autophagy, lipid-peroxidation, NLRP3, NF-κB, TNF-α signaling pathways, atherosclerosis, myocarditis, and myocardial injury.
- COVID-19-induced CVD research, focusing on macrophage polarization and inflammatory storms, is an emerging hot topic.
Conclusions:
- The study identifies major research hotspots and evolving trends in macrophage-related CVD research.
- Findings offer valuable information for researchers to identify new avenues for investigation in this critical field.
Abstract:
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) refers to a group of diseases involving the heart or blood vessels and is currently the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in many countries around the world and poses a serious economic burden. Macrophages are key effectors of inflammatory and innate immune responses, and their aberrant expression contributes to the development of various types of CVD.This study retrieved articles published from 1990-2022 on macrophages in CVD from the Web of Science core collection, based on CiteSpace and VOSviewer on these literature The annual output, countries and regions, institutions, authors, core journals, keywords and co-cited literature were analyzed. A total of 7,197 articles and reviews were retrieved, with a general upward trend despite slight fluctuations in annual publications. Europe, the United States and Asia are the main countries and regions publishing articles, especially the United States, with the highest number of articles (2,581), citations (173,692) and H-index (197), which also has the world's largest number of elite institutions, professional The country also has the world's largest number of elite institutions, professional researchers and high-impact journals, and is the leading country in this field of research. Keywords "inflammation", "immunology", "autophagy", "lipid-peroxidation" are the main pathogenesis of CVD caused by macrophages. "NLRP3", "nf kappa b" and "TNF-α" are the most frequently studied signalling pathways. Atherosclerosis, myocarditis and myocardial injury are the most studied disease types in this field. In addition, the study of macrophage-related CVD induced by COVID-19 seems to be a recent hot topic, and the mechanisms involved are mainly macrophage polarization, inflammatory factor storm, ACE2 and so on. The present study reveals hot spots and new trends in research on macrophages in CVD, which can provide scholars with key information in this field of research and help further explore new research directions.
