Research trends on autoimmune liver diseases and gut microbiota (1989-2025): a bibliometric and visualization...

Autoimmune liver diseases (AILD) encompass autoimmune hepatitis (AIH), primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), and IgG4-related sclerosing cholangitis (IgG4-SC), with both incidence and prevalence showing an upward trend in recent years. Increasing evidence indicates that the onset and progression of AILD are inextricably linked to the gut microbiota. So far, no comprehensive and objective bibliometric study on AILD and gut microbiota has been conducted. This study retrieved literature from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) and Scopus database up to October 13, 2025, for analysis and validation respectively. VOSviewer, CiteSpace, R, Bibliometrix, SciExplorer, and WPS Office analysis tools were employed to systematically evaluate research trends, hot topics, and knowledge structures in the field. Our analysis indicates a growing research trend in AILD-gut microbiota interactions, involving 58 countries, 981 institutions, and 3,528 authors. Influential journals in this field include Frontiers in Immunology, GUT, and World Journal of Gastroenterology. Gershwin M. Eric stands as an authoritative author in this domain. Hot topics include "Mendelian randomization","primary sclerosing cholangitis", "primary biliary cholangitis", "bile acids", and the "gut-liver axis". Exploring therapeutic targets in AILD patients through the gut microbiome and its metabolites may emerge as a key future research direction. In summary, this study employed bibliometric methods to evaluate the application and development of gut microbiota in the field of AILD. Research in this area has experienced rapid growth in recent years, progressively focusing on the mechanisms of the gut-liver axis and genetics. Future efforts should further explore the potential of gut microbiota modulation in AILD treatment.