Research hotspots and prospects on the correlation between subchondral bone and stem cells: bibliometrics and visual analysis

Background: While the repair and regeneration of cartilage injuries remain a significant research challenge, the relationship between subchondral bone and stem cells has emerged as a new focus. However, a bibliometric analysis of the research trends in this specific area is currently lacking. Methods: We searched Web of Science Core Collection (WOSCC), Scopus, and PubMed for all relevant literature on the subchondral bone-stem cell relationship from database inception to September 3, 2025. CiteSpace was used to visualize annual publication counts, authors, institutions, countries, co-citations (authors, journals, references), and keywords. Results: A total of 1,267 publications were included. Research on the subchondral bone-stem cell relationship is an emerging focus. The most prolific author was Zhang Wei from China (15 publications). The institution with the most publications was the Chinese Academy of Sciences (52 publications), which also had the highest centrality (0.19). The most highly-cited author was ZHEN GH. AM J Sport Med was the most highly-cited journal and had the highest centrality (0.31). Keyword analysis showed "mesenchymal stem cells" as the most frequent term, while "cartilage" had the highest keyword centrality (0.27). The top 10 largest keyword clusters were #0 monosodium iodoacetate, #1 chitosan, #2 osteochondral defects, #3 scatter factor, #4 silk fibroin, #5 tissue engineering, #6 edetic acid, #7 microgels, #8 knee, and #9 cartilage repair, which were emerging research fronts. Conclusion: studies, real-time monitoring techniques, and the investigation of specific factors and signaling pathways as new research hotspots.