Researches on Stem and Progenitor Cells in Intervertebral Discs: An Analysis of the Scientific Landscape

Low back pain (LBP) is a common clinical symptom, and the prevalence is ranged from 60% to 70%. With the deepening of basic research, the development of intervertebral disc regeneration-oriented cell therapy, especially stem and progenitor cells therapy, showed good research prospects and was expected to become new methods of treatment for LBP. Our study is aimed at analyzing the scientific output of stem and progenitor cells in intervertebral discs and at driving future research into new publications. Researches focused on this file were searched from the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-E) of the Web of Science (WOS) core collection database and were screened according to inclusion criteria. We evaluated and visualized the results, including annual publications, citations, authors, organizations, countries, research directions, funds, and journals by bibliometric website, VOSviewer, and Citespace softwares on May 27, 2022. A total of 450 original articles and reviews were included, and the overall trend of the number of publications rapidly increased. In worldwide, China and the USA were the leading countries for research production. The retrieved 450 publications received 14322 citations, with an average of 31.83 citations and an H-index of 62. The most high-yield author, organization, country, research directions, funds, and journals were Chen QX from Zhejiang University, Zhejiang University, China, Cell Biology, National Natural Science Foundation of China, and Spine, respectively. Keywords cluster analysis showed the research hotspots in the future, including “human intervertebral disc”, “adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cell”, “intervertebral disc degeneration”, “degenerative disc model”, “nucleus pulposus regeneration”, “human cartilage”, “3d culture”, “shrinkage-free preparation”, and “polylactide disc”. Furthermore, with accumulating evidence demonstrating the role of stem and progenitor cells in intervertebral discs, “microenvironment”, “activation”, “intervertebral disc degeneration”, and “oxidative stress” are becoming the research frontiers and trends.