Bibliometric analysis of metformin as an immunomodulator (2013-2024)

Front Immunol. 2025 Jan 8:15:1526481. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1526481. eCollection 2024.

Abstract

Background: Metformin, the frontline treatment for diabetes, has considerable potential as an immunomodulator; however, detailed bibliometric analyses on this subject are limited.

Methods: This study extracted 640 relevant articles from the Web of Science (WOS) Core Collection and conducted visual analyses using Microsoft Excel, VOSviewer, and CiteSpace.

Results: The findings showed that research on the immunomodulatory function of metformin has grown steadily since 2017, with China and the United States being the leading contributors. These studies have mostly been published in journals such as the International Journal of Molecular Sciences, Cancers, Frontiers in Immunology, and Scientific Reports. Keyword co-occurrence analysis highlighted metformin's role as an immunomodulator, particularly in the context of the tumor immune microenvironment, immunosuppressive checkpoints, and metformin derivatives. Recent research has highlighted metformin's application in aging, autoimmune diseases, COVID-19, and tuberculosis. Additionally, its role in regulating inflammation and gut microbiota is also being investigated.

Conclusion: Overall, the immunomodulatory effects of metformin were investigated in anti-tumor, antiviral, anti-aging, and autoimmune disease research. This highlights the scope of metformin use in these fields, while also significantly enhancing its clinical value as a repurposed drug.

Keywords: aging; bibliometric analysis; immune checkpoint inhibition; immunomodulator; inflammation; metformin; tumor immune microenvironment.

Publication types

  • Review
  • Systematic Review

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Autoimmune Diseases / drug therapy
  • Autoimmune Diseases / immunology
  • Bibliometrics*
  • COVID-19 / immunology
  • Humans
  • Hypoglycemic Agents / therapeutic use
  • Immunologic Factors / therapeutic use
  • Immunomodulating Agents / pharmacology
  • Immunomodulating Agents / therapeutic use
  • Metformin* / therapeutic use
  • Neoplasms / drug therapy
  • Neoplasms / immunology
  • SARS-CoV-2 / immunology

Substances

  • Metformin
  • Immunologic Factors
  • Hypoglycemic Agents
  • Immunomodulating Agents

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This study was supported by key projects supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and Joint Fund for Regional Innovation and Development (U21A20411); Hunan Provincial Natural Science Foundation Project (2024JJ5303); Hunan Provincial Traditional Chinese Medicine Research Project (B2024003); Graduate Innovation Project of Hunan University of Chinese Medicine(2023CX06).