2022, Vol. 26 ›› Issue (29): 4723-4728

Citespace-based visual analysis of research literature related to cartilage repair using cartilage precursor cells

He Qize1, Meng Lin2, Wang Jie1, Weng Chenyi1   

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Cartilage repair has always been a great challenge for orthopedic surgeons and also a hot issue in relevant fields. Recent studies have revealed the existence of cartilage progenitor cells with stem cell characteristics in the articular cartilage, providing a new entry point for cartilage repair.
OBJECTIVE: By analyzing the trend of publications, author collaboration network, institutional collaboration network, co-occurrence analysis and clustering analysis of keywords in the cartilage progenitor cells-related literature, to explore the development status, research hotspots and difficulties in this field in the past 20 years, and to provide new ideas and directions for cartilage repair-related scientific research as well as clinical work.
METHODS: The core ensemble database included in Web of Science 1999-2021 was used as the literature source, and Citespace 5.8.R1 was applied to visualize and analyze relevant literature and draw relevant visualization maps.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: A total of 829 papers were included, and the analysis results showed that: the annual publication volume was basically stable at 30-50 articles with a slight downward trend; CHUANJU LIU had the most publications and the institution with the most publications was Harvard Univ; and there were 20 high-frequency keywords that formed 12 meaningful clusters. Mesenchymal stem cells, chondrocytes, osteoblasts, bone marrow stromal cells, and stromal cells are the current research hotspots. Cartilage precursor cells are currently of little research concern, and there is still great room for future exploration. Most of the current research on cartilage precursor cells focuses on the application of tissue engineering materials combined with the cells for cartilage defect repair. Current frontier hotspots in cartilage repair research include the sources of chondrocytes and cartilage precursor cells, application of exosomes, tissue-scaffold interactions and scaffold degradation, identification and application of new stimuli, understanding structural maturation, biomechanics and function, and improving implantation, fixation and rehabilitation methods.
Key words: cartilage, repair, joint, stem cell, cartilage precursor cell, Citespace software, bibliometrics, visual analysis