Ubiquitination in diabetes and its complications: A perspective from bibliometrics

BACKGROUND Diabetes has a substantial impact on public health, highlighting the need for novel treatments. Ubiquitination, an intracellular protein modification process, is emerging as a promising strategy for regulating pathological mechanisms. We hypothesize that ubiquitination plays a critical role in the development and progression of diabetes and its complications, and that understanding these mechanisms can lead to new therapeutic approaches. AIM To uncover the research trends and advances in diabetes ubiquitination and its complications, we conducted a bibliometric analysis. METHODS Studies on ubiquitination in diabetes mellitus and its complications were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection. Visual mapping analysis was conducted using the CiteSpace software. RESULTS We gathered 791 articles published over the past 23 years, focusing on ubiquitination in diabetes and its associated complications. These articles originated from 54 countries and 386 institutions, with China as the leading contributor. Shanghai Jiao Tong University has the highest number of publications in this field. The most prominent authors contributing to this research area include Wei-Hua Zhang, with Zhang Y being the most frequently cited author. Additionally, The Journal of Biological Chemistry is noted as the most cited in this field. The predominant keywords included expression, activation, oxidative stress, phosphorylation, ubiquitination, degradation, and insulin resistance. CONCLUSION The role of ubiquitination in diabetes and its complications, such as diabetic nephropathy and cardiomyopathy, is a key research focus. However, these areas require further investigations.