{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,10]],"date-time":"2026-08-10T06:27:51Z","timestamp":1786343271210,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":24,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,10]],"date-time":"2026-08-10T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1786320000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Med."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Pulmonary fibrosis, particularly idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), is a progressive and fatal interstitial lung disease with limited treatment options. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as critical regulators of fibrotic processes, yet a systematic overview of the research landscape in this rapidly growing field is lacking.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>We performed a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of publications on miRNA regulation in pulmonary fibrosis from January 1, 2000, to December 31, 2025, using the Web of Science Core Collection and Scopus databases. After deduplication, a total of 2,093 valid documents (articles and reviews) were analyzed. Multiple analytical tools\u2014VOSviewer (v1.6.20), CiteSpace (v6.4R1), and the bibliometrix R package (v3.2.1)\u2014were employed to examine annual publication trends, collaborative networks (countries, institutions, authors), co-citation clusters, citation bursts, journal dual-map overlays, and keyword evolution.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      The annual publication output increased steadily from 2007 to 2021, peaking at 229 papers, then stabilized at 150\u2013193 papers per year (2022\u20132025). China (889 papers, 38.4%) and the United States (477 papers, 20.6%) were the most productive countries, although United States and European papers exhibited higher average citation impact (United States: 74.79; Germany: 86.49) compared to China (29.28). Nanjing Medical University (43 papers) and the University of Pittsburgh (28 papers) were leading institutions. Author productivity followed Lotka\u2019s Law, with 89.6% of authors publishing only one paper. Co-citation network analysis (1,108 nodes,\n                      <jats:italic>Q<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f=\u202f0.8242, S\u202f=\u202f0.9284) revealed well-defined clusters centered on non-coding RNAs, extracellular vesicles, and cellular senescence. Citation burst detection identified 25 key references, with the Raghu G (2022) clinical guideline showing the most sustained influence. Keyword co-occurrence analysis generated six clusters, with the newest frontier (exosomes, extracellular vesicles, mesenchymal stem cells, COVID-19) having average publication years of 2022\u20132023. Recent keyword bursts included \u201csystematic review\u201d (2021\u20132023), \u201cimmunofluorescence\u201d (2022\u20132025), and \u201ccircular ribonucleic acid\u201d (2023\u20132025).\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This bibliometric analysis provides a systematic mapping of the global research landscape on miRNA regulation in pulmonary fibrosis over the past 26\u202fyears. The field has evolved from basic molecular mechanisms toward emerging frontiers including extracellular vesicle-based communication, circular RNAs, and cellular senescence. These findings serve as a valuable resource for researchers seeking to understand current trends, collaborative networks, and future directions in miRNA-targeted pulmonary fibrosis research.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fmed.2026.1914903","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,10]],"date-time":"2026-08-10T05:30:20Z","timestamp":1786339820000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["MicroRNA regulation in pulmonary fibrosis: a bibliometric analysis of global research trends, collaborative networks, and emerging frontiers"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Fan","family":"Wu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pulmonary Diseases, Shuguang Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine","place":["Shanghai, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Qile","family":"He","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pulmonary Diseases, Shuguang Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine","place":["Shanghai, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Fengjun","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pulmonary Diseases, Shuguang Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine","place":["Shanghai, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xing","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pulmonary Diseases, Shuguang Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine","place":["Shanghai, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Wei","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pulmonary Diseases, Shuguang Hospital, Shanghai Institute of Infectious Diseases and Biosecurity, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine","place":["Shanghai, China"]},{"name":"Zhang Wei Baoshan Famous Traditional Chinese Medicine Inheritance Studio, Shanghai Baoshan Hospital of Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine","place":["Shanghai, China"]},{"name":"Institute of Infectious Diseases, Shanghai Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine","place":["Shanghai, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,10]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"27","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cytogfr.2026.04.001","article-title":"The immunodynamics of pulmonary fibrosis","volume":"89","author":"Xie","year":"2026","journal-title":"Cytokine Growth Factor Rev"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e744","DOI":"10.1002\/mco2.744","article-title":"Pulmonary fibrosis: 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