Bibliometric analysis and visualization of ferroptosis in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD): a comprehensive review
TL;DR
Research on the association between ferroptosis and MASLD is currently in a phase of rapid development, with research hotspots focusing on the mechanistic exploration of core regulatory pathways and their potential for clinical translation.
Abstract
Background Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD) has emerged as one of the major chronic liver diseases worldwide, and its progression mechanisms have not yet been fully elucidated. Ferroptosis is a form of programmed cell death driven by iron-dependent lipid peroxidation. In recent years, it has been demonstrated to play a crucial regulatory role in the progression of MASLD. Although publications on MASLD have increased rapidly over the past decade, there is currently a lack of systematic bibliometric analysis regarding research trends, emerging hotspots, and global contributions in this field. Methods Articles and reviews related to MASLD and ferroptosis were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC), PubMed and Scopus. Then duplicate literature and irrelevant literature were removed by Noteexpress software. R software, CiteSpace, VOSviewer and Pajek were employed to analyse and visualise the included literature. Specifically, we examined publication year, country, institution, journal, author, references, and keywords to identify the research landscape and evolutionary trajectory of this field. Results This analysis encompassed 373 publications on ferroptosis in MASLD, spanning the period from 2018 to 2026. In the past 4 years, 294 publications were published, accounting for 78.8%. China emerged as the most productive country in this field, contributing 273 publications, with Huazhong University of Science and Technology representing the core research institution. Frontiers in Pharmacology was the most influential journal with the highest number of published articles. Wang Hui was identified as the most prolific author. Keyword cluster analysis indicated that lipid peroxidation, iron homeostasis and iron overload constitute current research priorities. Emerging evidence has highlighted the dual roles of iron dysregulation and lipid peroxidation in MASLD pathogenesis, while concurrent efforts have been directed toward bridging traditional Chinese medicine and modern biomedicine in the search for novel therapeutics. Highly-cited literature consistently underscores ferroptosis as a key regulatory node in the progression of MASLD, thereby providing a novel theoretical basis and potential diagnostic-therapeutic targets for this condition. Conclusion Research on the association between ferroptosis and MASLD is currently in a phase of rapid development, with research hotspots focusing on the mechanistic exploration of core regulatory pathways and their potential for clinical translation. Future efforts should prioritize strengthening international collaboration and interdisciplinary research. Through large-scale clinical trials and multi-omics data analysis, emphasis should be placed on the clinical translation of ferroptosis-targeted intervention in MASLD treatment. The results of this study may provide an important reference for selecting subsequent research directions in this field.