Regulatory Role of ECM Biophysical Signals on Cell and Nuclear Mechanics: A Bibliometric and Visualized Study

Abstract

Bibliographic and visualization tools can be used to reveal information from a massive amount of literature data. A bibliographic search of original articles published in English in the Web of Science Core Collection (2013–2022) using the terms extracellular matrix (ECM), cell mechanics, and nuclear mechanics. We conducted a bibliometric analysis upon which we reviewed their focus, summarized present research, and identified trends in academic research using the Bibliometrix package in R Software and CiteSpace software. In this study, we examined the current state of collaborative research on the regulatory role of ECM biophysical signals in cell and nuclear mechanics. We also examined the top 20 authors to gauge their influence. An analysis of dual maps was also used to reveal the connections among several disciplines. Moreover, the historical direct citation network revealed how the content of such research changed over time. Furthermore, disciplinary burst analysis has highlighted the evolution of ECM biophysical signals in cell and nuclear mechanics studies over the past few years, while keyword density visualization has been used to pinpoint research hotspots. Researchers can utilize these results as a guide to explore topics or concentrate on a particular area of study.