The role of astrocytes in ischemic stroke

Background: Astrocytes, the most abundant glial cells in the central nervous system, play essential roles in maintaining neuronal homeostasis, regulating neurovascular function, and modulating inflammatory responses after ischemic stroke. Although increasing evidence indicates that astrocytes contribute to both neuroprotection and injury progression, the global research landscape and emerging trends in astrocyte-related ischemic stroke research remain unclear. This study aimed to systematically characterize the development, hotspots, and future directions of this field using bibliometric analysis. Methods: Publications related to astrocytes and ischemic stroke were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection database between January 1, 2015 and July 1, 2026. A total of 2690 publications were included for analysis. VOSviewer, CiteSpace, and the R package bibliometrix were used to evaluate publication trends, international and institutional collaborations, journal and author contributions, co-citation networks, keyword co-occurrence, and emerging research themes. Results: The annual publication output showed a continuous increasing trend, indicating growing interest in astrocyte-related ischemic stroke research. A total of 72 countries/regions contributed to this field, with China (1372 publications, 34.73%) and the United States (461 publications, 20.49%) being the leading contributors. Shanghai Jiao Tong University was the most productive institution (149 publications). The most active journals included International Journal of Molecular Sciences, Molecular Neurobiology, and Journal of Neuroinflammation, while Stroke, Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism, and Journal of Neuroscience showed strong co-citation influence. Citation and keyword analyses revealed that major research themes focused on astrocyte activation, oxidative stress, neuroprotection, blood-brain barrier regulation, neurovascular interactions, microglia-associated inflammation, energy metabolism, NLRP3 inflammasome, pyroptosis, epigenetic regulation, and endoplasmic reticulum stress. Conclusion: This bibliometric analysis provides a comprehensive overview of global research trends in astrocyte-related ischemic stroke. The field has evolved from investigating general astrocytic responses toward exploring molecular mechanisms, cellular interactions, and targeted regulatory strategies. Future studies should further elucidate astrocyte heterogeneity, metabolic and inflammatory regulation, and neurovascular unit interactions to facilitate the development of astrocyte-targeted therapeutic approaches.