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SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Oncol.
Sec. Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention
Volume 15 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fonc.2025.1509457
Liquid-liquid phase separation drives immune signaling transduction in cancer: a bibliometric and visualized study from 1992 to 2024
Provisionally accepted
Yanhong Pei 
Haijie Liang Yu Guo Boyang Wang Han Wu Zhijian Jin Shanyi Lin Fanwei Zeng Yifan Wu Qianyu Shi Jiuhui Xu Yi Huang Tingting Ren Jiarui Liu Wei Guo *- Peking University People's Hospital, Beijing, China
Background: Liquid–liquid phase separation (LLPS) is a novel concept that could explain how living cells precisely modulate internal spatial and temporal functions. However, a comprehensive bibliometric analysis on LLPS and immune signaling processes in cancer is still scarce. This study aims to perform a bibliometric assessment of research to explore the landscape of LLPS research in immune signaling pathways for cancer.Methods: Utilizing the Web of Science Core Collection database and multiple analysis software, we performed quantitative and qualitative analyses of the study situation between LLPS and immune signaling in cancer from 1992 to 2024. Results: The corresponding authors were primarily from China and the USA. The most relevant references were the "International Journal of Molecular Sciences", "Proteomics". The annual number of publications exhibited a fast upward tendency from 2020 to 2024. The most frequent key terms included expression, separation, activation, immunotherapy, and mechanisms. Qualitative evaluation emphasized the TCR, BCR, cGAS-STING, RIG-1, NF-κB signaling pathways associated with LLPS processes.Conclusion: This research is the first to integratively map out the knowledge structure and forward direction in the area of immune transduction linked with LLPS over the past 30 years. In summary, although this research area is still in its infancy, illustrating the coordinated structures and communications between cancer and immune signaling with LLPS within a spatial framework will offer deeper insights into the molecular mechanisms of cancer development and further enhance the effectiveness of existing immunotherapies.
Keywords: liquid liquid phase separation (LLPS), immune transduction, Bibliometric, Citespace, Cancer
Received: 11 Oct 2024; Accepted: 28 Jan 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Pei, Liang, Guo, Wang, Wu, Jin, Lin, Zeng, Wu, Shi, Xu, Huang, Ren, Liu and Guo. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Wei Guo, Peking University People's Hospital, Beijing, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.