Global Research Trends of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells: A Data-Driven Bibliometric Analysis

This study analyzed 10,461 iPSC-related publications retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection-Science Citation Index Expanded, focusing on annual publication, journal, author, institution, country/region, reference, and author keyword, with networkvisualization performed using VOSviewer. The annual publication has shown remarkable growth, first exceeding 500 in 2013 and reaching 1,107 in 2021. Stem Cell Research published the most publications ( n = 1,472) and received the highest citations ( n = 6,561), followed by PLoS One and Scientific Reports. The United States was the most productive country with 3,525 publications and 208,413 citations. Among the institutions, Kyoto University ranked first in productivity with 480 publications and 33,455 citations. Wu Joseph C. was the most prolific author, having 119 publications and 8,855 citations. Five main clusters were identified through the co-occurrence analysis of the top 177 author keywords: iPSCs differentiation & tissue engineering, neurodegenerative diseases & neurobiology, regenerative medicine in Parkinson’s disease, cardiac disease models & gene editing, and ESCs & reprogramming mechanisms. This study presented the first comprehensive bibliometric analysis of global iPSC research, aiming to map the domain's intellectual structure and collaborative networks. It revealed the global landscape, drivers of the growth trajectory, knowledge base, research hotspots, and future perspectives in the domain, thereby offering a strategic roadmap to accelerate progress and innovation.