Most chronic liver diseases of all etiologies result in progressive liver fibrosis. Myofibroblasts produce the extracellular matrix, including type I collagen, which constitutes the fibrous scar in liver fibrosis. Normal liver has little type I collagen and no detectable myofibroblasts, but myofibroblasts appear early in experimental and clinical liver injury. The origin of the myofibroblast in...

Tissue fibrosis evolving from impaired tissue remodeling after injury is characterized by myofibroblast accumulation. We propose that during the development of fibrosis myofibroblasts acquire an immune-privileged cell phenotype, allowing their uninterrupted accumulation. Using the murine model of bleomycin-induced lung fibrosis in mice, we show that myofibroblasts that accumulate in lungs with ...

PURPOSE To investigate the role of angiotensin II (Ang II) in the regulation of corneal myofibroblast apoptosis and the possible signaling pathway. METHODS Rabbit corneal myofibroblasts were cultured in vitro and the cell phenotype was identified by expression of α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and formation of F-actin. The expression of Ang II type I receptor (AT1R) in keratocytes and corneal ...

Liver cirrhosis is characterized by hepatic dysfunction with extensive accumulation of fibrous tissue in the liver. In response to chronic hepatic injury, hepatic portal myofibroblasts and activated hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) play a role in liver fibrosis. Although administration or gene expression of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) leads to improvement in hepatic fibrosis/cirrhosis, the rela...

Renal tubulointerstitial fibrosis is the common feature of chronic renal failure, regardless of its etiology. Myofibroblasts play important roles in progression of the fibrosis and are characterized by expressions of various cytoskeletons such as vimentin, desmin and α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA). To pursue the characteristics of the cells, we immunohistochemically investigated the relationship...

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is a progressive lung disease with high mortality and limited therapy that characterized by epithelial cell damage fibroblast activation. Ellagic acid natural polyphenol compound widely found in fruits nuts has multiple pharmacological activities. In this study, we explored the potential effects mechanisms of on vivo vitro . studies showed significantly alleviated ...

OF THE THESIS Interactions of Cardiomyocytes and Myofibroblasts: An Experimental and Theoretical Model Study by Teresa M. Abney Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering Washington University in St. Louis, 2012 Research Advisor: Professor Guy Genin Cardiomyocytes and fibroblasts make up the majority of cells in natural myocardium. While cardiomyocytes are primarily responsible for the mech...

The myofibroblast is an important stromal cell of the gastrointestinal tract. Current in vitro and in vivo models either do not accurately recreate stromal-epithelial interactions or are not specific to myofibroblasts. We sought to create an animal model that would allow the study of myofibroblast-epithelial interactions. We isolated and cultured colonic myofibroblasts from FVB mice. Cells were...

BACKGROUND In the human testis, myofibroblasts are the main cellular components of the lamina propria (LP) of seminiferous tubules. Thickened ('fibrotic') LP and dilated tubules are found in a large number of infertile patients, and myofibroblast dedifferentiation has been described in elderly men. It is not known, however, whether dedifferentiation of myofibroblasts is responsible for disturbe...

AIMS To determine the role of interstitial myofibroblasts in the progression of membranous nephropathy; and to assess the predictive value of quantifying myofibroblasts in determining long term renal outcome. METHODS All cases of membranous nephropathy, diagnosed by renal biopsy at University Hospital of South Manchester between 1984 and 1987, were studied retrospectively. The biopsy specimen...