The landscape of mitochondrial transplantation: A bibliometric analysis

Recent years have witnessed rapid progress in mitochondrial transplantation (MT) as a novel strategy for restoring mitochondrial function in diverse pathological conditions, including somatic mitochondrial transfer and reproductive mitochondrial replacement therapy. With its expanding applications in regenerative medicine and disease modeling, systematic quantitative evaluation of the global MT research landscape remains limited. To address this gap, we performed a bibliometric analysis of publications indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection from 1996 to 2024, with cross-database validation using Scopus. CiteSpace, VOSviewer, and the R package bibliometrix were applied to assess publication trends, collaboration networks, co-citation patterns, and keyword co-occurrence. In total, 1104 articles and reviews were included. The results revealed rapid growth in MT-related research, with the United States and China as leading contributors. Mitochondrion emerged as the most influential journal, while Yamada Y, Harashima H, and McCully JD were recognized as key authors. High-frequency keywords highlighted major themes including mitochondrial transfer, mesenchymal stem cells, and ischemia-reperfusion injury. Emerging terms such as extracellular vesicles, tunneling nanotubes, and advanced delivery systems, particularly the MITO-Porter platform, reflected current research frontiers. Overall, this study provides a comprehensive overview of global research trends and evolving directions in mitochondrial transplantation.