Spatial transcriptomics: a bibliometric analysis with large language model on English literatures

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology
• Genomics
• Bioinformatics

Background:

• Spatial transcriptomics (ST) integrates spatial and transcriptomic data for high-resolution gene expression mapping.
• ST has become crucial for understanding cellular functions and disease mechanisms, particularly in cancer and immunology.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a bibliometric analysis of ST publications from 2015-2024.
• To identify publication trends, journal distribution, and emerging research areas in ST.

Main Methods:

• Bibliometric analysis of 1197 publications sourced from the Web of Science database.
• Analysis of publication trends, journal distribution, and keyword co-occurrence.

Main Results:

• A significant surge in ST publications occurred from 2021, with 500 papers published in 2023.
• Key emerging research areas include "tumor microenvironment," "immune infiltration," and "biomarker discovery."
• Five of the top 10 journals publishing ST research are from the Nature Publishing Group.

Conclusions:

• ST is a rapidly evolving field with significant growth, particularly in cancer and immunology research.
• International collaboration and multidisciplinary teams are vital for advancing ST research.
• Understanding ST trends is essential for guiding future research impact and applications.