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Topic · Immunology

Phagocytosis and Immune Regulation

Phagocytosis and Immune Regulation is a research topic within Immunology. Science Explorer counts 17k research works in it since 1950. 10.1% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

This cluster of papers focuses on the mechanisms and regulation of apoptotic cell clearance, including the role of CD47, phagocytosis, TAM receptors, efferocytosis, and the implications for cancer immunotherapy. It explores the involvement of various molecules and pathways in the recognition and removal of apoptotic cells by phagocytes, shedding light on potential therapeutic targets for immune-related diseases.

  • CD47
  • apoptotic cells
  • phagocytosis
  • immune regulation
  • clearance mechanisms
  • TAM receptors
  • efferocytosis
  • cancer immunotherapy
  • phosphatidylserine
  • macrophages
Research works
17k
fractional, since 1950
In the world top 10%
1.7k
per year above
Top-10% rate
10.1%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Growth, 2018-21 → 2022-25
+32%
the tick is no change
Largest producer
China
42% of the 10 largest, 2022-now
Phagocytosis and Immune Regulation

Which countries lead Phagocytosis and Immune Regulation research?

By volume, China and the United States publish the most (1.6k and 1.2k works in 2022-now).

By volume, 2022-now

  1. 1 China 1.6k works
  2. 2 United States 1.2k works
  3. 3 Germany 177 works
  4. 4 Japan 158 works
  5. 5 United Kingdom 142 works
  6. 6 India 125 works
  7. 7 France 117 works
  8. 8 South Korea 105 works
  9. 9 Italy 94 works
  10. 10 Canada 88 works

How concentrated that is

The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.

China: 42.2%United States: 31.4%Germany: 4.7%Japan: 4.1%6 others listed: 17.7%42%largest
China1,603 · 42.2%United States1,192 · 31.4%Germany177 · 4.7%Japan158 · 4.1%6 others listed672 · 17.7%

Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.

Which institutions lead Phagocytosis and Immune Regulation research?

By volume in 2022-now, Sun Yat-sen University publishes the most Phagocytosis and Immune Regulation research, followed by Harvard University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

By volume, 2022-now

  1. 1 Sun Yat-sen UniversityChina 54 works
  2. 2 Harvard UniversityUnited States 54 works
  3. 3 Shanghai Jiao Tong UniversityChina 48 works
  4. 4 Zhejiang UniversityChina 40 works
  5. 5 Sichuan UniversityChina 40 works
  6. 6 Chinese Academy of SciencesChina 35 works
  7. 7 Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical CollegeChina 33 works
  8. 8 University of North Carolina at Chapel HillUnited States 33 works
  9. 9 National Institutes of HealthUnited States 32 works
  10. 10 The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer CenterUnited States 32 works

Who are the leading researchers in Phagocytosis and Immune Regulation?

The most-cited researchers publishing on Phagocytosis and Immune Regulation include Mark J. Daly, Guido Kroemer and Shizuo Akira.

  1. 1 Mark J. Daly United States 403k citations
  2. 2 Guido Kroemer France 386k citations
  3. 3 Shizuo Akira Japan 342k citations
  4. 4 Jun Wang China 340k citations
  5. 5 Giuseppe Remuzzi Italy 328k citations
  6. 6 Gregory Y.H. Lip United Kingdom 311k citations
  7. 7 Robert A. Weinberg United States 301k citations
  8. 8 Michael Karin United States 276k citations
  9. 9 Hagop M. Kantarjian United States 273k citations
  10. 10 Gordon Brent Mills United States 265k citations

Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.

What are the most cited papers in Phagocytosis and Immune Regulation?

The most cited paper in Phagocytosis and Immune Regulation is "The biochemistry of apoptosis" (Michael Otmar Hengartner, 2000), with 7,357 citations. Next come "Cell Death: The Significance of Apoptosis" (7,243) and "Caspases: Enemies Within" (6,945).

Most cited papers
#PaperReleasedCitations
1 The biochemistry of apoptosis Michael Otmar Hengartner · Nature Oct 2000 7,357
2 Cell Death: The Significance of Apoptosis A H Wyllie, John F. R. Kerr, Richard A. Currie · International review of cytology Book chapter 1980 7,243
3 Caspases: Enemies Within Nancy A. Thornberry, Yuri A. Lazebnik · Science 28 Aug 1998 6,945
4 Apoptosis in the Pathogenesis and Treatment of Disease Craig B. Thompson · Science 10 Mar 1995 6,597
5 Macrophage plasticity and polarization: in vivo veritas Antonio Sica, Alberto Mantovani · Journal of Clinical Investigation Open access Mar 2012 6,482
All 99 most cited papers, with filters and sorting

Where is Phagocytosis and Immune Regulation research done?

The largest centres of Phagocytosis and Immune Regulation research in 2022-now are Beijing (China), Shanghai (China), Guangzhou (China) and Nanjing (China). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Bethesda and Houston.

Largest cities, 2022-now

  1. 1 BeijingChina 168 works
  2. 2 ShanghaiChina 149 works
  3. 3 GuangzhouChina 131 works
  4. 4 NanjingChina 86 works
  5. 5 HangzhouChina 74 works
  6. 6 New YorkUnited States 60 works
  7. 7 WuhanChina 58 works
  8. 8 ChengduChina 58 works
  9. 9 ParisFrance 57 works
  10. 10 SeoulSouth Korea 54 works

Where it is the local speciality

  1. BethesdaUS · 31.2 works5.7×
  2. HoustonUS · 53.7 works4.8×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Phagocytosis and Immune Regulation than the world average.

See Phagocytosis and Immune Regulation on the map

Where is the best place to study Phagocytosis and Immune Regulation?

Among universities, judged by research, Harvard University, Sun Yat-sen University and Sichuan University score highest, combining citation excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.

0%10%20%30%mean 18.01%fractional works in this field (log) →share of work in the world top 10% →Sichuan UniversityZhejiang UniversityHarvard UniversitySun Yat-sen University
above the meannear itbelow it

One dot per university in the first ten of the table below, at the default weights. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.

Citation excellenceshare of its work in the world top 10%, 2022-now and all time averaged
40%
Specialisationhow much of its work is in this field, counted up to 10× the world share
10%
Sizeits output in this field, on a log scale
30%
Growthoutput growth, counted from -20% to +20%
10%
Internationalshare of its work with a co-author abroad
10%
Each slider sets a weight; the share it gets of the score is beside it.
#UniversityScoreTop 10%SpecialisationWorksGrowth
1Harvard UniversityUnited States 80.815.8%4.2×54 +7.5%
2Sun Yat-sen UniversityChina 77.014.8%6.5×54 +89.3%
3Sichuan UniversityChina 74.218.9%4.4×40 +102.4%
4Zhejiang UniversityChina 70.316.1%3.8×40 +75.9%
5Shanghai Jiao Tong UniversityChina 70.216.0%4.2×48 +66.8%
6Zhengzhou UniversityChina 68.124.8%3.9×19 +105.6%
7Central South UniversityChina 66.419.6%3.6×28 +109.7%
8Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical CollegeChina 66.014.5%7.8×33 +90.0%
9Southern Medical UniversityChina 63.920.0%8.2×20 +64.2%
10University of PennsylvaniaUnited States 61.319.6%4.2×18 +22.8%

Universities only. The score blends citation excellence (40%), size (30%), specialisation (10%), growth (10%), international reach (10%), 2022-now; growth compares 2018-21 with 2022-25 and counts up to +20%, since a jump from a small base is mostly noise.

Every institution in Phagocytosis and Immune Regulation, country by country

Is Phagocytosis and Immune Regulation research growing?

Output in 2022-2025 was 32% higher than in 2018-2021, peaking in 2025. The fastest-growing topics are Phagocytosis and Immune Regulation.

still counting19801990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon: one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Its share of all research

Growing output can still be a shrinking share: all of science grows. This is Phagocytosis and Immune Regulation as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.018% in 2024.

still counting0.010%0.020%0.030%Phagocytosis and Immune Regulation0.021% in 202519801990200020102020

Fractional works of Phagocytosis and Immune Regulation over all fractional works that year. How the balance of science has shifted.

How much of it reaches the world top 10%

Year by year.

still counting5%10%15%Phagocytosis and Immune Regulation10.0% in 2025200020102020

Of each year's works in it, the share that reached the world's 10% most cited for their field and year. A field is the world for its own topics, so there is no other line to hold it against.

Which topics inside it are moving

Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.

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