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. 2023 Jul 19:14:1234885.
doi: 10.3389/fphar.2023.1234885. eCollection 2023.

Trends in volume-regulated anion channel (VRAC) research: visualization and bibliometric analysis from 2014 to 2022

Tianbao Liu  1   2   3 , Yin Li  4 , Dawei Wang  1   2   3   5 , Tobias Stauber  6 , Jiajun Zhao  1   2   3
Affiliations

Trends in volume-regulated anion channel (VRAC) research: visualization and bibliometric analysis from 2014 to 2022

Tianbao Liu et al. Front Pharmacol. .

Abstract

Objective: In this study, we utilized bibliometric methods to assess the worldwide scientific output and identify hotspots related to the research on the volume-regulated anion channel (VRAC) from 2014 to 2022. Methods: From Web of Science, we obtained studies related to VRAC published from 2014 to 2022. To analyzed the data, we utilized VOSviewer, a tool for visualizing network, to create networks based on the collaboration between countries, institutions, and authors. Additionally, we performed an analysis of journal co-citation, document citation, and co-occurrence of keywords. Furthermore, we employed CiteSpace (6.1. R6 Advanced) to analyzed keywords and co-cited references with the strongest burst. Results: The final analysis included a total of 278 related articles and reviews, covering the period from 2014 to 2022. The United States emerged as the leading country contributing to this field, while the University of Copenhagen stood out as the most prominent institution. The author with most publications and most citations was Thomas J. Jentsch. Among the cited references, the article by Voss et al. published in Science (2014) gained significant attention for its identification of LRRC8 heteromers as a crucial component of the volume-regulated anion channel VRAC. Pflügers Archiv European Journal of Physiology and Journal of Physiology-London were the leading journals in terms of the quantity of associated articles and citations. Through the analysis of keyword co-occurrence, it was discovered that VRAC is involved in various physiological processes including cell growth, migration, apoptosis, swelling, and myogenesis, as well as anion and organic osmolyte transport including chloride, taurine, glutamate and ATP. VRAC is also associated with related ion channels such as TMEM16A, TMEM16F, pannexin, and CFTR, and associated with various diseases including epilepsy, leukodystrophy, atherosclerosis, hypertension, cerebral edema, stroke, and different types of cancer including gastric cancer, glioblastoma and hepatocellular carcinoma. Furthermore, VRAC is involved in anti-tumor drug resistance by regulating the uptake of platinum-based drugs and temozolomide. Additionally, VRAC has been studied in the context of pharmacology involving DCPIB and flavonoids. Conclusion: The aim of this bibliometric analysis is to provide an overall perspective for research on VRAC. VRAC has become a topic of increasing interest, and our analysis shows that it continues to be a prominent area. This study offers insights into the investigation of VRAC channel and may guide researchers in identifying new directions for future research.

Keywords: LRRC8; SWELL1; bibliometric analysis; research direction; volume-regulated anion channel (VRAC).

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Flowchart of the volume-regulated anion channel (VRAC) research.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
The yearly distribution of publications in the field of VRAC research from 2014 to 2022.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Countries involved in VRAC research. (A) Top 10 countries with the largest number of publications. (B) Total citations received by articles related to VARC from various countries. (C) Annual number of publications in United States, China, Germany, Japan and Italy.
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Analysis co-authorship of nations and organizations. (A) Co-authorship network map of countries with over three publications. The size of the node indicates the number of publications. (B) Co-authorship network map of institutions with over two publications. The size of the node represents total link strength. The thickness of the lines indicates the relationship strength.
FIGURE 5
FIGURE 5
Co-citation analysis map of the journal patterns in VRAC research with over 50 documents. The size of the node indicates citations received by the journal.
FIGURE 6
FIGURE 6
Visual map of co-authorship between authors with a minimum of 3 published articles. The size of the node indicates the counts of articles.
FIGURE 7
FIGURE 7
(A) Citation analysis network map of documents with no less than 30 citations. The node size represents the count of citations. (B) Co-citation analysis network map of references with no less than 30 citations. The size of the node represents the number of citations. (C) Top 20 references with the strongest citation bursts.
FIGURE 8
FIGURE 8
Analysis of keyword co-occurrence. (A) Keywords of studies are mapped. The more times the keyword appears, the larger its weight value is, which is depicted as size of the node and font. A shorter distance between two nodes generally signifies a stronger correlation, indicating the strength of the relationship between two items. A thicker line between two nodes indicates a closer relationship between two keywords that have a common occurrence. Different colors indicated the variety of clusters. (B) The distribution of keywords is categorized based on the average year of publication, with darker colors indicate earlier appearances in publications, lighter colors indicate more recent appearances. (C) The mean frequency of appearance determines the distribution of keywords, with yellow representing the highest frequency.
FIGURE 9
FIGURE 9
The top 15 keywords exhibiting the strongest citation bursts.
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