Cardiac fibrosis triggered by pressure overload represents one of the major challenges in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. MicroRNA (miRNA/miR)‑155, a member of the small RNA family, has previously been demonstrated to be associated with cardiac inflammation. However, the effect of miR‑155 on cardiac fibrosis induced by angiotensin II (Ang II), particularly in cardiac fibroblasts, requ...

BACKGROUND Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid) from fish oil ameliorate cardiovascular diseases. However, little is known about the effects of ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on cardiac fibrosis, a major cause of diastolic dysfunction and heart failure. The present study assessed the effects of ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on cardiac fibrosis....

Lnc-ing fibroblasts to cardiac fibrosis Therapies for cardiac injury typically focus on cardiomyocytes, the contractile cells of the heart. But cardiac fibroblasts can play a key role in the pathogenesis of heart failure by depositing extracellular matrix to compensate for reduced cardiac function. Micheletti et al. identified a long noncoding RNA (lncRNA), Wisper, that is enriched in cardiac f...

Heart failure (HF) is an increasingly recognized complication of diabetes. Cardiac fibrosis is an important causative mechanism of HF associated with diabetes. Recent data indicate that inflammation may be particularly important in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular fibrosis. We sought to determine the mechanism by which cardiac fibrosis develops and to specifically investigate the role of the ...

Duchenne muscular dystrophy, an X-linked recessive neuromuscular disorder due to lack of the protein dystrophin, manifests as progressive muscle degeneration and cardiomyopathy with increased fibrosis. The exact mechanisms involved in fibrosis are unknown, but a cytokine, transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta), is a likely mediator. This study tested whether the TGF-beta antagonist, pirfeni...

Hypertension-induced cardiovascular hypertrophy and fibrosis are critical in the development of heart failure. The activity of TLRs has been found to be involved in the development of pressure overload-induced myocardial hypertrophy and cardiac fibrosis. We wondered whether vaccine bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG), which activated TLR4 to elicit immune responses, modulated the pressure overload-s...

The master cytokine TGF-β mediates tissue fibrosis associated with inflammation and tissue injury. TGF-β induces fibroblast activation and differentiation into myofibroblasts that secrete extracellular matrix proteins. Canonical TGF-β signaling mobilizes Smad2 and Smad3 transcription factors that control fibrosis by promoting gene expression. However, the importance of TGF-β-Smad2/3 signaling i...

Remodelling in the atria could appear as a result of hypertension, diabetes or ischaemic heart disease. Galectin-3 (Gal-3) is a mediator of profibrotic pathways and a potential biomarker of cardiac remodelling. We prospectively recruited consecutive patients undergoing elective cardiac surgery. Preoperative Gal-3 levels were determined from serum samples, and the presence of fibrosis was assess...

OBJECTIVE It is revealed that circulating fibrocytes are elevated in patients/animals with cardiac fibrosis, and this review aims to provide an introduction to circulating fibrocytes and their role in cardiac fibrosis. DATA SOURCES This review is based on the data from 1994 to present obtained from PubMed. The search terms were "circulating fibrocytes " and "cardiac fibrosis ". STUDY SELECT...

BACKGROUND/AIMS Cardiac fibrosis after myocardial infarction (MI) has been identified as a key factor in the development of heart failure, but the mechanisms undelying cardiac fibrosis remained unknown. microRNAs (miRNAs) are novel mechanisms leading to fibrotic diseases, including cardiac fibrosis. Previous studies revealed that miR-22 might be a potential target. However, the roles and mechan...