Sirtuin Family in Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cell Research: A Bibliometric Analysis with Web of Science and R

Summary

This study provides a bibliometric protocol for identifying research trends of the Sirtuin family in bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell studies using Web of Science and R.

Abstract

This study presents a comprehensive bibliometric protocol for systematically mapping research trends and knowledge structures of the Sirtuins (SIRTs) family in bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell research. The protocol involves structured literature retrieval from the Web of Science Core Collection using predefined search terms, the application of explicit inclusion and exclusion criteria to screen English-language articles and reviews and in-depth bibliometric analysis via the bibliometrix package in R. Key methodological steps include data retrieval and cleaning, descriptive statistical analysis, keyword co-occurrence assessment, collaboration network mapping and the generation of thematic evolution and conceptual structure maps. Our analysis of 496 eligible articles (2009-2024) revealed a marked increase in annual publications, with China emerging as the leading contributor. Soochow University and author LI Y were identified as the most productive institution and author, respectively. High-frequency keywords included 'mesenchymal stem cells', 'oxidative stress' and 'SIRT1', with thematic mapping highlighting motor themes such as senescence and oxidative stress. This reproducible and transparent methodological framework not only delineates current research hotspots but also provides a rigorous, scalable approach for large-scale literature synthesis, supporting future scientific evaluations and trend assessments in the field with enhanced clarity and reproducibility.

Introduction

Stem cells are undifferentiated cells capable of self-renewal and differentiation, offering considerable therapeutic potential. Adult stem cells, such as bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs), are widely used in tissue regeneration due to their accessibility and lack of ethical issues compared with embryonic stem cells¹. They are non-hematopoietic cells from bone marrow capable of differentiating into various cell types and are involved in tissue repair and disease treatment^2,3.

Adult stem cells are present in various tissues, including bone marrow, fat,....

Protocol

This study only used publicly available bibliographic data and did not involve humans or animals. Therefore, ethics committee approval was not required.

1. Study design

1. Carry out a retrospective bibliometric analysis of published literature on the SIRTs family in bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell research.
2. Collect literature from the WOS Core and perform structured retrieval, screening, quantitative analysis, and visualization of bibliographic data.

2. Literature retrieval

1. Open the WOS Core and select the SCI-Expanded database (all operation codes and inspection points are....

Results

General publication data

A total of 580 articles were retrieved from the WOS Core Collection using the detailed search strategy. After applying the predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria to remove 84 unrelated records (e.g., studies not primarily focused on SIRTs in BMSCs or irrelevant publication types such as meeting abstracts) or duplicates, 496 eligible articles were included in the final analysis. All included articles were published in English and focused on the SIR.......

Discussion

At present, there are many studies on the SIRTs family and BMSCs, yet a comprehensive synthesis of research trends is lacking. Sirtuin 6 is a unique member of the known SIRTs family and has a variety of functions in different molecular pathways related to DNA repair, glycolysis, gluconeogenesis, tumorigenesis, neurodegeneration and cardiac hypertrophy^18,19. Its broad regulatory roles highlight its major translational potential in age-related diseases and cancer t.......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
computer running the Windows 11 operating system	Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, WA, USA)
R	version 4.4.1, R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria	bibliometrix (version 4.3.1), ggplot2, igraph, factoextra, and wordcloud packages