UNLABELLED Myofibroblasts are hybrid-phenotype differentiated cells in between fibroblasts and smooth muscle cells. Due to their contractile features and ability to synthesize extracellular matrix components, cytokines, proteases, and proangiogenic factors, myofibroblasts have been implicated in the pathogenesis of fibrocontractive diseases and in the progression of many tumors, including oral ...

Tumor progression has been linked to changes in the stromal environment. Myofibroblasts are stromal cells that are often increased in tumors but their contribution to cancer progression is not well understood. Here, we show that the secretomes of myofibroblasts derived from gastric cancers [cancer-associated myofibroblasts (CAMs)] differ in a functionally significant manner from those derived f...

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is characterized by premature alveolar developmental arrest. Antenatal exposure to inflammation inhibits lung morphogenesis, thus increasing the risk of developing BPD. Alveolar myofibroblasts are thought to migrate into the septal tips and elongate secondary septa during alveolarization. Here we found lipopolysaccharide (LPS) disrupted the directional migration...

Myofibroblasts are a differentiated fibroblast cell type characterized by increased contractile capacity and elevated production of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins. In the heart, myofibroblast expression is implicated in fibrosis associated with pressure-overload hypertrophy, among other pathologies. Although enhanced expression of ECM proteins by myofibroblasts is established, few studies ...

Vimentin is a newly recognized target for corneal fibrosis. Using primary rabbit corneal fibroblasts and myofibroblasts we show that myofibroblasts, unlike fibroblasts, display impaired cell spreading and cell polarization, which is associated with increased levels of soluble serine-38 phosphorylated vimentin (pSer38Vim). This pSer38Vim isoform is inefficiently incorporated into growing vimenti...

Myofibroblasts play important roles in inflammation, fibrosis and tumorigenesis in chronically inflamed liver. Liver myofibroblasts originate from hepatic stellate cells, portal fibroblasts or mesothelial cells, and they are localized in and around fibrotic septum and portal tracts. Liver myofibroblasts are the source of extracellular matrix materials, including type I collagen and multiple fib...

In this article, we examined the distribution of myofibroblasts and CD34-positive stromal cells in normal renal pelvis and ureter and their cancers using immunohistochemistry. Eighteen tumors and normal tissues apart from the main tumor were examined. In the wall of normal renal pelvis and ureter, no myofibroblasts were observed through all layers, but CD34-positive stromal cells were observed ...

Hepatic fibrosis results from many chronic liver diseases, including hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), alcoholic liver disease and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Hepatic fibrosis is the scar caused by deregulation of physiological wound healing and results in excessive production of extracellular matrix (ECM), mostly collagen type I. Myofibroblasts, which are not present ...

The ability of lymphocytes and macrophage-derived cytokines and chemokines to modulate the activation of stromal cells during immune responses is well-documented, but few studies have investigated whether liver myofibroblasts shape the phenotype and function of monocytes in liver disease. In the present study, Kupffer cells were demonstrated to be activated in the inflamed livers of patients wi...

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to evaluate the oral health-related quality of life of patients treated with implant-supported mandibular overdentures and to compare the attachment systems used. MATERIAL AND METHODS The presence of myofibroblasts as well as transforming growth factor-beta1 was examined in twenty cases of fibrous epulis and 22 ossifying fibrous epulis, using immunohis...