Research progress of TRPV4 in pain over the past 20 years: a bibliometric analysis

This study aims to explore the research hotspots and future research trends of transient receptor potential vanilloid 4 (TRPV4) in pain over the past two decades, with the objective of gaining insight into the development direction and focus of this field. A total of 791 articles were included in this study by searching the Web of Science Core Collection (WOSCC) database. To enhance research quality and accuracy, keywords with similar meanings were combined to eliminate ambiguity. Data visualization analysis was conducted using CiteSpace and VOSviewer, encompassing the examination of countries, research institutions, authors, journals, keywords, references, and categories. Over the past 20 years, 791 scientific articles on TRPV4 and pain have been reviewed, originating from 52 countries, involving 885 research units, 4121 authors, and published in 332 journals. The United States, China, and Japan emerged as core contributors in this field. Prominent research institutions include Duke University (United States) and the University of California, San Francisco (United States). The most prolific researchers include Liedtke, Wolfgang (United States), Bunnett, Nigel W. (United States), and Yue, Shou-wei (China). Research on TRPV4 and pain predominantly focuses on the molecular mechanisms, role of pain models, drug development, and clinical applications, aimed at advancing pain treatment. This study provides a comprehensive overview of the literature on TRPV4 and pain over the past two decades, offering researchers and scholars fresh insights into the field's development trends and future directions.