Knowledge mapping of interleukin-33: a bibliometric study

Interleukin-33 (IL-33) is a member of the IL-1 family of cytokines. IL-33 is associated with the expression of tissue damage or necrosis after increasing and being released into the cell, it influences the suppression of tumorigenicity 2 (ST2) receptor expression of a variety of immune cells (including mast cells and type 2 congenital lymphocytes). Furthermore, during type 2 innate immune reactions and allergic inflammation IL-33 plays a central role in immune amplification and "alarming"; thus, regulating immune responeses. IL-33 is closely related to inflammation-related diseases such as allergic diseases, autoimmune diseases, infectious diseases, and tumors. It is essential in maintaining tissue homeostasis, eliminating inflammation, and repairing tissue damage. We searched the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) database for relevant publications on IL-33 from 2005 to 2021 and screened them according to specific inclusion criteria. A total of 2626 articles were included in our analysis. Using Microsoft Excel 2019 (Redmond, WA), VOSviewer 1.6.11 (The Centre for Science and Technology Studies, CWTS), and Citespace5.8. R2 (Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA) were used for data processing and visualization. Countries/regions, journals, authors, co-cited references, and keywords were analyzed. We discovered that IL-33 plays an important role as a cytokine in numerous diseases, especially allergic diseases. Studying its mechanism of action is of great importance for developing novel drugs and therapeutics.