Fibroblast migration, proliferation, extracellular matrix protein synthesis and degradation, all of which play important roles in inflammation, are themselves induced by various growth factors and cytokines. Less is known about the interaction of these substances on lung fibroblast function in pulmonary fibrosis. The goal of this study was to investigate the effects of PDGF alone and in combina...

Previous work has shown the importance of tumour-stroma interactions for prostate cancer development at the primary site. The aim of the present study was to find out whether evidence can be found for a tumour-stroma cross- talk also between metastatic prostate cancer cell lines and non-prostatic stromal fibroblasts which are encountered by metastatic cells at most sites. We addressed this issu...

Methotrexate (1 muM) abolishes the proliferation of chicken fibroblasts in a culture medium containing defibrinogenated chicken plasma but does not affect proliferation in a medium containing chicken serum.

In glaucoma surgery, fibrotic processes occur, leading to impairment of liquid outflow. Activated fibroblasts are responsible for postoperative scarring. The transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) pathway plays a key role in fibroblast function, differentiation and proliferation. The aim of this study was the characterization of the fibrotic potential of two subtypes of primary human ocular fibro...

Defined biomimetic three-dimensional (3D) matrices are needed to decipher the complex cellular signalling during wound healing at high resolution in vitro. Soluble factors like TGF-β1 and adhesion promoting structural components of the extracellular matrix (ECM) are known to be key regulators of fibroblast behaviour. The ECM component fibronectin (FN) bears a complex function as adhesion promot...

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive fibroproliferative disease characterized by an accumulation of fibroblasts and myofibroblasts in the alveolar wall. Even though the pathogenesis of this fatal disorder remains unclear, transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β)-induced differentiation and proliferation of myofibroblasts is recognized as a primary event. The molecular pathways invol...

PURPOSE To compare the biomodulatory effects of LED and ultrasound combined with semipermeable dressing in the repair of cutaneous lesions. METHODS Eighty-four Wistar rats were submitted to surgical injury (2.5 cm) and divided into four groups (n=21): Group I (control), Group II (LED therapy, LED), Group III (LED therapy + dressing, LED+D) and Group IV (ultrasound + dressing, US+D). At seven,...

Background: Expansion of the use of magnetic fields in metals, mining, transport, research, and medicine industries has led to a discussion about the effects of magnetic fields and whether their strength is negligible. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of magnetic field on the viability and proliferation rate of HeLa cells. Materials and methods: We studied the effects of ma...

Cardiac fibroblasts have been long recognized as active participants in heart disease; however, their exact physiological and pathological roles remain elusive, mainly due to the lack of specific markers. In this issue of the JCI, Moore-Morris and colleagues used a fibroblast-specific collagen1a1-GFP reporter to demonstrate that fibroblast accumulation after aortic banding in murine hearts aris...

Eosinophils have been associated with fibrosis. To investigate their direct role in fibrosis, human peripheral blood eosinophil sonicate was added to human lung or dermal fibroblasts, and proliferation ([(3)H]thymidine) and collagen synthesis ([(3)H]proline) were evaluated. Proliferation was enhanced significantly in the monolayers in a dose-dependent manner. The activity of the eosinophil fibr...