Zhishou Meng,1 Dongqin He,1– 3 Honggang Wang,1– 3 Lijuan Ma,1 Le Guan,1 Yongning Ai,1 Jianxin Yang,1 Ruxing Liu1– 3 

1Department of Pain Management, Second Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Orthopedics, Second Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Shanxi Key Laboratory of Bone and Soft Tissue Injury Repair, Second Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, People’s Republic of China

Correspondence: Ruxing Liu, Department of Orthopedics, The Second Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, No. 382, Wuyi Road, Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, People’s Republic of China, Email liuruxing0924@163.com

Objective: The purpose of this study was to conduct a bibliometric analysis of the literature on stem cell therapy for osteoarthritis (OA) to visualize recent developments, identify hot spots, and determine trends in the field.
Background: OA is a chronic disease that affects the joints and their surrounding tissues, leading to progressive damage to the articular cartilage and ultimately to the subchondral bone and the surrounding synovial structures. OA is a disabling disease with an increasing incidence and prevalence in the general population. Modulation of immunity and inflammation and improvement of cell survival and differentiation through multidirectional differentiation of stem cells is a potential strategy for the treatment of OA.
Methods: We searched for publications on “stem cell therapy for osteoarthritis” in the Web of Science (WOS) core collection database from 1998– 2024 and summarized the results, including year of publication, country, institution, author, and collaborative network generated using VOSviewer and Citespace. In addition, research trends were identified. Finally, we summarized the hot topics and identified future research trends.
Results: This study ultimately included 2341 valid papers, with a trend toward a gradual increase in the number of publications over time. The country, institution, author, and journal with the highest number of publications and citations were China, the University of California system, Sekiya I, and Osteoarthritis and Cartilage, respectively. High-frequency keyword clusters included cell therapy, stem cells, tissue engineering, and extracellular vesicles.
Conclusion: Through visualization and analysis, we elucidated the trends and research hotspots in the field over the past five years. The analysis revealed that stem cell transplantation and exosome therapy for OA may be the focus of future research. This study lays the foundation for future research and clinical work on stem cell therapy in this field.

Keywords: osteoarthritis, stem cell, tissue engineering, exosome, extracellular vesicles, bibliometric analysis, VOSviewer, citespace