A Web of Science-based scientometric analysis about mammalian target of rapamycin signaling pathway in kidney disease from 1986 to 2020.

Background: The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway is vital for the regulation of cell metabolism, growth and proliferation in the kidney. This study aims to show current research focuses and predict future trends about mTOR pathway in kidney disease by the methods of scientometric analysis.

Methods: We referred to publications from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) Database. Carrot2, VOSviewer and CiteSpace programs were applied to evaluate the distribution and contribution of authors, institutes and countries/regions of extensive bibliographic metadata, show current research focuses and predict future trends in kidney disease's area.

Results: Until July 10, 2020, there are 2,585 manuscripts about mTOR signaling pathway in kidney disease in total and every manuscript is cited 27.39 times on average. The big name of course is the United States. Research hot spots include "diabetic nephropathy", "kidney transplantation", "autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease", "tuberous sclerosis complex", "renal cell carcinoma" and "autophagy". Seven key clusters are detected, including "kidney transplantation", "autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease", "renal transplantation", "renal cell carcinoma", "hamartin", "autophagy" and "tuberous sclerosis complex".

Conclusions: Diabetic nephropathy, kidney transplantation, autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease, tuberous sclerosis complex, renal cell carcinoma and autophagy are future research hot spots by utilizing scientometric analysis. In the future, it is necessary to research these fields.