Immunotherapeutic landscape of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: A bibliometric analysis of research trends, translational priorities, and collaboration networks (2006-2025).

Overview

1. Center for Translational Neurodegeneration and Regenerative Therapy, Tongji Hospital Affiliated to Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
2. Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of Nanocatalytic Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
3. Shanghai Key Laboratory of Anesthesiology and Brain Functional Modulation, Clinical Research Center for Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Translational Research Institute of Brain and Brain-Like Intelligence, Shanghai Fourth People’s Hospital Affiliated to Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai Research Institute for Intelligent Autonomous Systems, State Key Laboratory of Cardiology and Medical Innovation Center, Shanghai East Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, China

Abstract

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) remains a major therapeutic challenge, with immune dysregulation increasingly recognized as a critical driver of disease progression. Despite extensive mechanistic research, no immunotherapeutic approach has achieved consistent disease-modifying effects, raising questions about whether this translational gap reflects biological complexity or structural misalignment within the research ecosystem. To characterize the intellectual evolution of ALS immunotherapeutics research, identify immune targets with translational potential, and evaluate collaboration patterns that may influence translational efficiency, we performed a bibliometric analysis of 2,256 publications indexed in Web of Science and Scopus using network-based approaches including co-citation clustering, keyword co-occurrence, and citation burst detection implemented in CiteSpace, VOSviewer, and R-Bibliometrix. Publication output increased 8.4-fold over the study period, delineating three developmental phases. Thematic analyses revealed a shift from early emphasis on microglial biology and SOD1-based models toward recent focus areas including the gut–brain axis, C9orf72-associated immune dysregulation, and advanced immunomodulatory strategies. Collaboration networks remain predominantly regional despite strong contributions from the United States, Europe, and Asia, with limited integration between mechanistic research groups and clinical trial consortia. Among immune-directed therapeutic strategies, regulatory T cell modulation and microglial-targeted approaches exhibit the highest translational readiness. These findings suggest that the lack of effective ALS immunotherapeutics reflects not only biological complexity but also structural and strategic misalignment within the research ecosystem. This bibliometric analysis provides a systems-level framework to guide more integrated translational strategies in ALS immunotherapeutics development.

Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY-NC), from the paper cited above.

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• figshare:32337413, at figshare; found in DataCite

Data availability statement

The data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author.

Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY-NC), from the paper cited above.

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Version 2, 28 September 2026

• Funding: added National Natural Science Foundation of China: 82471448; Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality: 24ZR1468500; Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities: 22120240333

Version 1, 28 September 2026: the first record

Recorded: type, language, journal, volume, issue, pages, dates, 7 authors, 6 keywords, 9 MeSH terms, 69 references.

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This paper

Zhang, M., Yang, W., Wang, J., Zou, B., Zheng, J. C., Wu, Q., & Gao, G. (2026). Immunotherapeutic landscape of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: A bibliometric analysis of research trends, translational priorities, and collaboration networks (2006-2025). Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics, 22(1), 2664985. https://doi.org/10.1080/21645515.2026.2664985

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