Transdifferentiation of quiescent dermal fibroblasts to secretory myofibroblasts has a central role in wound healing and pathological scar formation. This myofibroblast transdifferentiation process involves TGFβ-induced de novo synthesis of alpha smooth muscle cell actin (αSMA)+ fibers that enhance contractility as well as increased expression of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins, including c...

PURPOSE To determine the connections between the ciliary muscle (CM), trabecular meshwork (TM), and Schlemm's canal (SC) and their innervations that allows CM contraction (by pilocarpine) to influence conventional outflow in mice. METHODS Sequential sections and whole mounts of murine corneoscleral angles were stained for elastin, α-smooth muscle actin (αSMA), vesicular acetylcholine transpor...

Abstract Background and Aims Glomerulonephritis is one of the most common causes chronic kidney disease (CKD). Causes glomerular diseases include lupus nephritis (LN), focal segmental glomerulonephritis (FSGS) minimal change (MCD). The hallmark CKD renal fibrosis characterized by an imbalanced turnover extracellular matrix (ECM) components associated with increased inflammation. aim for this st...

UNLABELLED Burn injuries in the United States account for over one million hospital admissions per year, with treatment estimated at four billion dollars. Of severe burn patients, 30-90% will develop hypertrophic scars (HSc). In this study, we evaluate the impact of an elastomeric, randomly-oriented biostable polyurethane (PU) scaffold on HSc-related outcomes. In vitro, fibroblast-seeded PU sca...

During heart valve remodeling, and in many disease states, valvular interstitial cells (VICs) shift to an activated myofibroblast phenotype which is characterized by enhanced synthetic and contractile activity. Pronounced alpha smooth muscle actin (αSMA)containing stress fibers, the hallmark of activated myofibroblasts, are also observed when VICs are placed under tension due to altered mechani...

Transforming growth factor (TGF) β2 and fibroblast growth factor (FGF) 2 are involved in regulation of posterior capsule opacification (PCO) and other processes of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) such as cancer progression, wound healing and tissue fibrosis as well as normal embryonic development. We previously used an in vivo rodent PCO model to show the expression of tropomyosin (Tpm)...

The transformation of tunica albuginea-derived fibroblasts (TAFs) into myofibroblasts plays an important role in the pathological progress of Peyronie's disease (PD). However, no treatment which addresses this transformation is currently available. Estrogen has been shown to inhibit the progression of fibrosis in a number of fibrotic diseases. The aim of this study was to determine whether estr...

Introduction: Epigenetic regulation of fibrogenesis through post-translational histone modifications (marks) may be a key determinant of progression in renal disease. In this study, we examined the distribution and acquisition of histone 3 Lysine 9 (H3K9) marks after injury and stimulation with the pro-fibrotic cytokine TGF-β1. Our focus was on their presence in activated fibroblasts (myofibrob...

Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAF) are highly prevalent cells in the tumor microenvironment clear cell renal carcinoma (ccRCC). CAFs exhibit a pro-tumor effect vitro and have been implicated proliferation, metastasis, treatment resistance. Our objective is to analyze geospatial distribution of with proliferating apoptotic ccRCC determine associations survival systemic treatment. Pre-treatment ...

Purpose To investigate levels of sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) in aqueous fluid samples taken before and after filtration surgery and S1P-induced human conjunctival fibroblast (HCF) responses. Methods Levels of S1P and its related sphingophospholipids in aqueous fluid obtained immediately before and after filtration surgery were determined by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. HC...